t-vOJ 



t^^^^MJ^,^^* 



I 















1(^ 












^< 



'a^ 






>*'''^i 



C' H\ 



^'- 



l-^^ 



^^^ 



-^Cf^ ^^ 



1?,^ r> ? O O' 







m 



lammoth 







ave, 






tv^lg- 



KENTUCKY. 



#\ 

% 

Mi 



^1/ A, D, Binkerd, M. 2>. 



^&-\i 



CINCINNATI 

ROBERT CLARKE & CO. 
1869. 



Printers, 



lira 

J r,-f"t 



'/!^'ie< 






?fif»yf«stta^«j;6sttaj^Sfii?afe4^»aA9' 



i'wpH^^^/^ 



?<^^^^F^»^^^ » » D » » I 



^^^^^^W^^^^^FV^^^^F^*'*^^^^^'"'^^' 



MAMMOTH CAVE. 



w 



>tS&h^J,^4^^^r-^<^%-%-^^-^s^'^:%^$'^^s ' ~i'~'^^v^^^^^ 



:md 







^i ■<, 






-vt 






if / pp/^ry?jf^ pppp)^jrvyp 






j-^ 



5. 









■^'< 



». t 



^.?^/ 



THE 




And its Denizens : 



GUIDE. 



By a. D. BINKERD, M. D 



CINCINNATI: 

ROBERT CLARKE & CO., Printers, 

65 West Fourtu Street. 

18 6 9. 



*j> 



P'-|^^^ V»^ !y:|^ . )fJ(^_^^ . .^ j f^ . )iSr t^ .;ii ^|y4^^ l y{^g^^ 







•1' 



J 



7?7, ;?. (i/v, 



Entered aocordiiitij to Act <>(' Coiinnss, in the year 1869, by 

A. D. BINKEllD, M. I), 

in the Clerks Otfict- of the District Court fur the tSouthern District 

of Ohio. 






To my Brother, 
ISAAC B. BINKERD, ESQ. 

IN 

Homage of his long and sincere devotion to the 

CAUSE OF EDUCATION, 

and in grateful recollection of his generous aid and en- 
couragement, 

is respectfully and affectionately inscribed 

BY 

HIS FORMER PUPIL, 

THE AUTHOR. 



CONTENTS. 



Audubon's Avenue 18 

Arched Way 30 

American Eagle 33 

Atmosphere 41 

Acute Angle - 43 

Americanism 45 

Arm Chair 56 

Ball Room 22 

Bandit's Hall 87 

Bottomless Pit 31 

Bridge of Sighs 32 

Bunyan's Way 34 

Buchanan's Way 35 

Bacon Chamber 40 

Back Track 50 

Bridal Chamber 55 

Black-snake Avenue 29 

Cave City 10 

Cave Hotel 10 

Cascade 12 

Church 20 

Corncobs 23 

Chief City 50 

Cascade Hall 72 

Cleopatra's Needle 79 

Cleveland's Cabinet 77 

Crystal Flowers 93 

Crickets 86 

Croghan's Hall 80 

Conclusion 94 

Descent 14 

Deserted Chambers 28 



Page 

Dead Sea 38 

Deserted Village 43 

Discoveries 62 

Dismal Hollow 79 

Dripping Spring 73 

Entrance 11 

Exploring Parties 14 

Earthquake 17 

Effects Upon Life 43 

End of Short Journey 57 

Embarkation 67 

Echo River 69 

El Ghor 74 

Elindo Avenue 77 

End of Cave 85 

Eyeless Fish 85 

Eyeless Crabs 86 

First Impressions 15 

First Vats 16 

Fox Avenue 49 

Fat Man's Misery 35 

Floating Cloud Room 48 

Flower Garden 78 

Franklin Avenue 80 

Great Bat Room 18 

Grand Arch 24 

Gothic Avenue 22 

Giant's Coffin 27 

Gorin's Dome 33 

Great Relief 36 

Gothic Arcade 22 51 

Gothic Chapel 52 



Mammoth Cave. 



Pag;e 

Guides 61 

GrREAT Walk 68 

Geology 92 

Hebe's Spring 76 

In the Maelstrom 81 

Kentucky Cliffs 20 

Kinney's Arena 48 

Locality 9 

Lake Lethe 39 

Lover's Leap 56 

Lucy's Dome 74 

Means of Access,.... 9 

Main Cave 19 

McPherson's Monument 28 

Martha's Palace 29 

Minerva's Dome 30 

Martha's Vineyard 76 

Maelstrom 80 

Mammoth Dome 87 

New Entrance 12 

Natural Bridge 39 

Nicholas' Monument 49 

Natural Beauties 59 

Narrows 15 

Old Entrance 12 

Ole Bull's Concert Koom.... 73 

Ox Tracks 22 

Odd Fellows' Links 36 

0. & M. Rivers 37 

Ownership 58 

Pigeon Boxes 20 

Pictures on the Wall 26 

Proctor's Arcade 48 

Passage Over the'Styx 66 

Poem by Prentice 89 

Perforate Stalagmites 55 

Railroad Passengers 10 



Rotunda 17 

Rocky Hall 26 

Richardson's Spring 30 

Revelers' Hall 33 

Rhoda's Arcade 74 

River Hall 37 

River Styx 39 

Return 42 

Register Room 51 

Rocky Mountains 79 

Rats 87 

Rock Houses 93 

Standing Rocks 23 

Sources of Amusement 11 

Second Hoppers 21 

Steps of Time 29 

Second View 63 

Side Saddle Pit 30 

Sounding Rock. 31 

Shelby's Dome 31 

Scotchman's Trap 34 

Star Chamber 46 

Silliman's Avenue 73 

Snowball Room 77 

Serena's Arbor 80 

Sylvan Avenue 88 

Temperature 13 

Timepiece 25 

Trip on the Echo River 69 

Table of Distances 95 

Valley of Humility 34 

Vegetable Odors 58 

Washington Hall 76 

Wright's Rotunda 49 

Willie's Spring 24 

Wooden Bowl 29 

Winding Labyrinth 32 




KENTUCKY. 




LOCALITY. 

J^HE locality of the Mammoth Cave is in 
latitude 37° Korth, and longitude 9° West 
from Washington. Its only known entrance 
is in the eastern part of Edmondson county, 
Kentucky, on the south side of Green river, 
one hundred and ninety-four feet above the level of 
that stream and ninety-four miles nearly due south 
from Louisville. 

MEANS OF ACCESS. 
The Louisville and Nashville Railroad passes within 
a few miles of the cave. This road was projected as 
early as 1850, and the first through train passed over 
it on the 9th of November, 1859. It is now one of the 
best roads in the State, and a part of the great Une 
extending from Chicago to New Orleans. 



10 Mammoth Cave. 



CAYE CITY, 
eighty-five miles south from Louisville and one hun- 
dred miles north from Nashville, is the point at which 
tourists stop over to visit the great Subterranean "Won- 
der of the western world. A daily line of Concord 
coaches has long been established between this station 
and the cave. 

Mr. W. L. Myers is the genial proprietor of the Cave 
City Hotel. He has, always on hand, something very 
nice expressly for you. 

Mr. M'Coy, the proprietor of the stage line, keeps 
excellent stock, and employs none but the most careful 
and competent of drivers. The jaunt of nine miles 
over the country is a very pleasant one. Several 
points on the road command a wide range of beautiful 
scenery diversified by rocky hills and fertile plains. 

EAILEOAD PASSENGEES, 
holding through tickets, may stop over, visit the cave, 
and resume their journey at pleasure on the same 
ticket. Many persons avail themselves of this privi- 
lege, generously extended by the railroad company to 
their patrons. 

THE CAYE HOTEL. 

This is rather a primitive edifice, constructed in the 
form of the letter L. It is, in the aggregate, over six 
hundred feet long, and has a wide, covered porch 



Marrvmoth Cave. 11 



along the sides facing the inclosed angle. Fronting 
this promenade is a beautiful lawn, thickly shaded by 
natural forest trees and ornamental evergreens. 

Mr. L. J. Proctor and Son are the present proprie- 
tors of the Cave Hotel and the Cave. 



SOUECES OF AMUSEMENT. 

A couple of billiard tables; a dancing hall, thirty by 
ninety feet, and a natural park of ambitious propor- 
tions afford the chief amusements of the place. In the 
months of May and June the air is fragrant with the 
aroma of roses and other flowers cultivated in the gar- 
den adjoining the buildings. On fair days the wild 
birds beguile the hours with their varied songs. During 
the traveling season a band is employed to discourse 
music to the patrons of the dance. 

ENTEANCE TO THE CAVE. 

A few minutes' walk, out through the garden, over 
the stile, and down a flight of wooden steps, brings us 
into a rocky ravine deeply shaded by tall forest trees. 
Here the air is cool and bracing. The sensation is 
delightful, and we catch new inspiration from each 
long, deep draught of the vitalizing element. 

Proceeding on our way, we presently reach a dilapi- 
dated old log building, in front of which there is a 
yawning chasm fifty feet deep, with irregular and pre- 
cipitous sides. This is the dreary portal to the subter- 
ranean world. Green ferns and climbing vines cling 



1^ Mammoth Cave. 

everywhere to the projecting rocks as if striving to 
cast some adorning drapery about their nakedness. 

THE CASCADE. 
A little spring of water pours a ceaseless stream 
of silvery beads from a shelving rock above the 
entrance and dashes it to spray in the chasm below. 
One fancies that the monotonous hum of the falling 
water and the gloom of the thick, overhanging foliage, 
render the place a fit habitation for gnomes. The first 
emotions awakened at sight of the entrance, and its 
weird surroundings, are less agreeable than we could 
have wished. 

THE OLD ENTEANCE. 

Formerly, ingress was efl^ected farther down the hill, 
near the Green river, where the cave may still be en- 
tered and explored as far as the breach forming the 
present entrance. At the old entrance we walk into 
the cave on a horizontal line, as into a coal mine or 
railroad tunnel. 

That part of the cave between the old and the new 
entrance is about half a mile long, and is known as 
Dickson's Gave. It contains nothing of special interest 
and is rarely visited. 

THE NEW ENTEANCE. 
At the new entrance we descend into a deep pit or 
shaft till we reach the floor of the cavern, about on a 
level with the old entrance. The present entrance was 



Mammoth Cave. 13 



occasioned probably by the action of a little stream of 
water, causing the rocky roof, which was not very firm 
at this place, to break through. A knowledge of this 
fact may excite apprehensions of clanger, but having 
once entered the cave, a sense of secm-ity steals over us, 
and we dismiss fear. 

TEMPEKATUEE. 

In these rocky chambers the temperature is uniformly 
about 59° F. The cave exhales or inhales as the tem- 
perature outside is above or below this standard. In 
summer, a strong current of cool air rushes outward 
with such violence as to endanger our lights. In the 
cold weather of winter, the current sets inward. In 
the spring and fall, when the temperature outside is 
about equal to the temperature inside of the cave, there 
is no action whatever. This natural phenomenon is 
called the breathing of the cave. 

Coming out of the cave on the last day of March 
of this year, I noticed a strong current of air tending 
outward, increasing in violence as I approached the 
entrance (it being a fine day). 

"When I had approached so near to the door as to be 
able to recognize the gray dawn of the daylight with- 
out, I tried the effect of this current of air upon my 
lamp, and found it sufiacient to extinguish the flame. 
I had carried the lamp more than two hours, and it 
was partly exhausted. The breathing inside of the 
cave is never perceptible more than a few hundred 



1^ Maimnoth Cave. 



yards from the entrance, except in case of a violent 
storm raging without, accompanied by sudden and 
great change of temperature. 

Change of season is unknown in the cave. Mornings 
and evenings have no existence in tliis nether world. 
Time itself produces no change in many parts of the 
cave ; for where there is no variation of temperature, 
no water and no light, the rocks may defy the three 
great forces of geological transformation. 

EXPLOEING PAETIES. 
Exploring parties are not properly equipped for the 
underground journey until each member of the com- 
pany is provided with a pair of thick-soled shoes or 
boots, a cap, blouse, and staff. The ladies should be 
arrayed in Turkish costume, with a hood of woolen 
stuff covering the head and ears. 

THE DESCENT. 
The guide, with a canteen of oil slung to his side, a 
box of matches and a good supply of Bengal lights in 
his pocket, and a basket of refreshments on his arm, 
hands to each a lighted lamp ; then leads the way while 
we follow down a flight of rude stone steps till we 
reach the floor of the cavern. Here we pause a mo- 
ment, take another look at the sunny sky, and then pass 
behind the sheet of falling water and enter the door in 
the artificial wall that separates the outer world of 
sunshine from the realm of darkness. From the time 



Mammoth Cave. 15 

we pass this door, our minds are so occupied with new 
and interesting sights that we rarely think of anything 
else till we return to daylight again. 

FIEST IMPEESSIONS. 

On entering the cave we feel a slight chilliness, and 
perhaps, too, a touch of fear; but these sensations soon 
vanish as gently and imperceptibly as childhood glides 
into youth. Before we have gone half a mile we feel 
ourselves the dauntless explorers of unknown realms, 
ready to enter the darkest regions of the cave, guided 
by the light of a single taper. The courage of the 
timid tourist sometimes wavers before reaching the 
cascade, but we never knew any one to turn back vol- 
untarily after having gone as far as the vestibule. 

We can not see distinctly for some time after enter- 
ing the cave. But by the time we shall have reached 
the first point of considerable interest, the eye will be 
somewhat accustomed to the darkness, which will en- 
able us to see more clearly. 

THE NAEEOWS. 

For the distance of fifty yards or more beyond the 
entrance, there is a low narrow passage with an arti- 
ficial wall on each side, rudely constructed of the frag- 
ments of rock that were quarried from the bottom and 
forced from the low ceiling, in order to enable a span 
of oxen and a cart to enter the cave. These were em- 
plo^'cd in the manufacture of saltpetre or nitrate of 
potash, which was extensively collected here from 1808 



16 Mammoth Cave. 



to 1814, by persons in the employ of the United States 
Government. The numerous rude appliances that 
were used in the manufacture of this salt, are still scat- 
tered along in the cave. Many articles of wood and 
some of iron may still be found here as firm and fit for 
use as when they were laid aside over half a century 
ago. 

FIEST YATS. 
Just beyond the JSTarrows, on the right hand side, 
are two huge bins or boxes, twelve feet long, six 
feet wide, and four feet deep. These boxes were 
constructed of strong oaken plank, and are still full of 
leached dirt that is almost as firm as a block of lime- 
stone. These bins, with their contents, have been care- 
fully preserved, just as they were left by the miners in 
1812. A great number of the trunks of thrifty young 
poplar trees, from eight to twelve inches in diameter 
and from twenty to twenty-five feet long, perforated 
longitudinally with a two-inch auger, lie scattered 
along the floor, from the entrance to the distance of 
half a mile into the cave. Through one line of these 
old pump logs, fresh water was conducted from with- 
out for the purpose of leaching the dirt, and through 
the other the lixivium was forced back by means of a 
hand pump, to the entrance, where it was evaporated 
to crystals. 



Mammoth Cave. 17 



THE EAETHQUAKE OF 1812. 

Mr. J. Gatewood, a native of the county, and an 
employe in the saltpetre mines, frequently stated dur- 
ing his lifetime, within the hearing of Mr. A. L. Mal- 
lory, my informant, that he was in the cave with a 
number of other workmen, during the occurrence of 
the earthquake that formed the lake in the lowland 
known as the " Kentucky Purchase," in the southwest- 
ern part of the State, bordering on the Ohio. The 
tremulous motion of the earth filled the miners with 
alarm, and they fled in the wildest confusion toward 
the entrance, which they did not reach till long after 
the danger was past, when they stepped forth with 
thankful hearts from what they feared might prove 
their supulcher. Fortunately no one was hurt, nor 
were the mining operations interfered with. Since 
the cave has proved a safe retreat during a violent 
earthquake, it is hardly probable that it could be unsafe 
at other times. No accident or loss of life has yet 
occurred in the cave, from carelessness or foul play, 
within the memory of that reverend being — the oldest 
inhabitant. 

THE EOTUNDA. 

We next enter the vestibule or rotunda. This is a 
large cavern at the beginning of the main cave, and is 
said to be directly under the hotel. It is over seventy- 
five feet high, and one hundred and sixty feet across the 



18 Mammoth Cave. 

floor. Several avenues put ofl" in cliiFerent directions 
from this, as from most other of the large rooms. In 
some parts the wall is abrupt, in others the ceiling 
slopes down gradually to the floor. Ofi" to the right 
is a passage rarely shown to visitors, as it contains 
nothing of special importance. This is called 

AUDUBON S AVENUE. 
Being near the entrance, it is generally passed by 
without much attention, and the guides have finally 
dropped it from their course altogether. One part of 
this avenue presents an unusual attraction to the nat- 
uralist. Countless thousands of bats have taken pos- 
session of one of these caverns, wherefore it is known 

as 

THE GEEAT BAT EOOM. 

Here the leathern-winged little animals cling to the 
walls and ceiling like huge swarms of bees, in bunches 
of many bushels, and doze away their existence in a 
semi-torpid state, in darkness and repose. What they 
feed upon is a question not easily settled. Some of 
them must remain here many months without once 
going out of the cave, as but few are seen outside at a 
time. It was formerly believed that they spent only 
the winter here; but I have never visited their 
apartment at any season without finding numbers of 
them. We will find plenty of them in the Rotunda 
for any experiment we may wish to make. 

They are cold to the touch, and when seized between 
the thumb and finger, they shrug up their shoulders. 



Mammoth Cave. 19 



move their wings lazily, and perhaps utter a feeble cry. 
Their eyes are about the size of a cambric needle's head ; 
these they persistently close when brought to the light. 
I carried one out of the cave, and after examining it to 
my satisfaction, threw it up into the air, thinkiiag it 
would fly, but it only used its wings as a parachute, lit 
gently upon the ground, and did not seem to have vital- 
ity enough to appreciate its freedom. They are very 
small, not over an inch and a half, or, at most, two 
inches in length, measuring about six inches across the 
wings. 

JSTotwitstanding their diminutive size, they are nev- 
ertheless capable of inflicting a severe wound. If we 
hold one of them by the far and skin on the back of the 
neck, and blow into its face, it will curl up its nose as 
if in derision, open wide its mouth and display a beau- 
tiful set of the most perfect and delicate teeth, similar 
to a cat's and sharp as a needle. These little animals 
are classed by naturalists with the true quadrupeds or 
mammals, as they bring forth their young alive ; and 
are grouped with the earnivora or insectivora. 

THE MAIN CAVE. 

The main cave begins at the Rotunda, under the hotel, 
and extends to the distance of five or six miles. It varies 
in width from fifty to three hundred feet, and in some 
places it is one hundred feet high. For the distance of 
a mile it is straight, then turning to the left it forms 
with itself an acute angle ; after which its course is 



^0 Mammoth Cave. 



irregular. Some of the small passages putting off from 
the main cave, after prolonged and tortuitous windings, 
communicate with other caverns and domes, surpassing 
in grandeur and magnificence even the most renowned 
part^of the main cave. We can not, in a small work 
like this, give a minute description of all that is inter- 
esting in so great a cavernous region. We propose 
to mention in the order of their occurrence only the 
main points of interest to which the tourist's attention 
is called, stating such facts regarding them as we have 
been enabled to gather by diligent research, inquiry of 
persons now living, and by personal inspection. 

KENTUCKY CLIFFS. 

As we move forward in the main cave, we notice on 

our left a rough ledge of beetling rocks, resembling the 

cliffs on the Kentucky river, after which they are 

named. On the right there is nothing peculiar, save 

sometimes a gradual sloping of the roof toward the 

floor. 

THE PIGEON BOXES, 

About four feet up the left hand wall there is a clus- 
ter of holes, very regularly formed, and about large 
enough to admit the hand. These being a distinct 
group, limited in number, while the adjoining wall is 
smooth, naturally suggests the name of Pigeon Boxes. 

THE CHUECH. 
About a quarter of a mile beyond the Rotunda, we 
enter a second dome or enlargement, in the main cave. 
This has a gothic roof or ceiling spanning the vast 



Mammoth Cave. 21 

arch, forty feet above the floor. The hall is somewhat 
irregular, and has an area of many thousand square feet. 
At the left hand corner as we enter this hall, there is 
a solid stone projection or platform about three feet 
higher than the main floor, and wide enough to hold a 
stand and several chairs. This is called the pulpit, and 
from it the Gospel was formerly preached to the large 
and attentive audiences that were probably attracted 
thither by the novelty of the occasion. These old pump 
logs arranged into rows of seats may still bear testimony 
that the story of Christ crucified has been told even in 
the sunless caverns that underlie the "dark and bloody 
ground." A rude gallery extends around a part of this 
hall, perhaps twenty feet above the main floor. 

SECGKD HOP PEES. 
We have now reached a second series of vats or shal- 
low pits, constructed of round sticks or split logs. Some 
of these are full of dirt and others are empty, resembling 
old pig pens. The great number of these rude appli- 
ances still remaining give some idea of the extent to 
which the work of saltpetre mining was carried on here. 
Notwithstanding the imperfect state of chemical knoAvl- 
edge half a century ago, and the primitive method em- 
ployed in extracting the salt, it is said the yield of a sin- 
gle year was estimated in value at twenty thousand dol- 
lars. These mines are very rich, and it is believed that 
the dirt which has once been leached, has the power of 
absorbing this salt again from its great source, and may 
be w^orked over with profit every three or four years, 



Mannnoth Cave. 



thus affording an endless supply of the nitrate of pot- 
ash. 

GOTHIC AECADE. 

Just in this part of the cave, where the mining op- 
erations were most extensively carried on, we notice a 
flight of wooden steps leading up to a large opening 
in the wall on our right. This is the entrance to a 
very interesting part of the cave, which we will visit 
on our return. As it is the best part of the day's 
work, we will reserve it to the last — make dessert of it. 

THE BALL EOOM. 
The Ball Room is the next place of interest that 
claims our attention. It is an enlarged portion of the 
main cave, perhaps one hundred feet long, sixty feet 
wide,and forty or fifty feet high. The floor is even, the 
walls and ceiling are regular, and with a little labor it 
could be made one of the most charming and commo- 
dious halls in the entire series. But the proprietors are 
anxious to show the cave as nearly in the natural state 
as possible, and therefore all the embellishments of art 
are scrupulously discarded. 

OX-TEACKS IN THE EOCK. 
In this part of the cave are still to be seen the tracks 
of cattle and of the carts that were used by the miners. 
In one place is a distinct ox-track in a hard substance 
similar to limestone rock. It will be borne in mind 
that these tracks were made in the soft mud over half 
a century ago, and since this part of the cave is very 



Mammoth Cave. 23 



dry, and has been so for man}^ years, the mud has be- 
come so thoroughly baked that it has assumed the con- 
sistency of rock. Thousands of human feet have trod- 
den over it, and still the intaglio remains indelibly 
fixed in the hard substance. Cart tracks are too nu- 
merous and well defined to be mistaken by even a 

blind man. 

OLD COEN COBS. 

Close by the wall on the left side of the room, may 
still be seen the fragments of corn-cobs, but whether 
they were brought here by the miners, as is the tradi- 
tion, or by Mat, the guide, for the purpose, as he says, 
of gratifying the curiosity of relic hunters, we have no 
means of determining. Three or four feet up the wall 
from these fragments, where the cattle were most prob- 
ably fed, there is a kind of hitching ring naturally 
formed in the rock. To this the guide informed us the 
cattle were fastened, during the intervals allowed for 
rest and for taking nourishment. The smooth groove 
worn by the rope into the rock, proves beyond doubt 
that the prevailing opinion has some foundation in 

truth. 

THE STANDING EOCKS. 

At the farther end of the Ball Room, there are 
several large fiat rocks that must have tumbled from 
the ceiling, perhaps ages ago. Several of these most 
probably turned edge foremost in the descent, in 
which position they buried themselves so firmly in 
the dirt and rubbish, that they still stand as un- 
yielding as the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Two of 



these deserre special atrention. They are, perhaps, 
fifteen feet long and project ten feet above the 
floor. The one nearest the wall stands nearly perj^en- 
?.:o:2lar, and has a heavy moldinfi: along the top. The 
:-er is about two feet thick, and stands parallel with 
:i-v first, three feet from it, bnt leaning over toward it 
at the top. Playful boys and girls seldom fail to pass 
between the standing rocks. There are no dangerous 
pits in this part of the cave. The floor is covered 
with a fine dry dust that never rises like the dust 
of the outer world, in spite of the pattering of many 
feet. It will neither adhere to a polished boot nor 
scarcely soil onr garments. 

GEAXP AECH. 

This portion of the cave is very similar to that 
which we have already seen, except the peculiar arch 
in the ceiling, which, when well Ut up is one of the 
grandest aghts we have yet witnessed. Like a paint- 
ing, it should be studied in order to get the best effect. 
It will amply repay us for all the time we spend in 
contomplating its beauty. This arch is about fifty feet 
hiffh and sixtv feet wide. 

WILLIE 5 SPBIXG. 

On the left side of this beautiful stretch of won- 
ders, a thread of water about the size of a Faber pen- 
cil, has chiseled a fantastic little niche into the soHd 
limestone rock, and gathered itself into a spring or 
basin at the foot of the niche, Tastinsr the water, we 



2/» 



tin-i :t i: . .. A ^'"tTe r^eetioa fc«ey 

apoa :a:-^ ,i . xemvri. exf^am- 

are re^. : r^i "o ^ u> earve ^eae- maBS'' 

'^ --^ goodJtTogg 
1 ta. Tie 
1: the Wats' «itt- 

t/. to do woric: it —it 

be in 7 . -&e evbooie 

a '^ '^ takesi^amd 

L .•- itawaj. Wh3e 

ti a Teiy low temp^- 

a~ r T every fnnHarfr lenewedi, bf 

~ je eoatwaedL Wbile ^e waia- 

:' Enie. ^bs eartwfe aod 
— ' ^ie Kme m d^e rodk, 
rse wats^ to wM^ it 
-7 over the rocks. Tie peetdxaz- 
sKapes in tibe Tarioos eaTerns are due moaiT to two 
causes : first, tie fi^cent degrees of ao&dbilSy in the 
different parts of tfee aazne rock : aml^ seeond^ the car- 
rent or motion of tie water. The tooEsst will observe 
rrrJ.T]j &eaks of ^lape aod i£rectioii. ik me&si and cav- 
erns direetl V traeeable to Aie eaases above sfSDKZstted. 

IZZ IlitEPIZCE 
Behind some Icose r'loks :i 
the slow droppm^ of waror, iz i . i 



26 Mammoth Cave. 



ioned house, lulled to repose by the drowsy tickings of 
the old moon-faced clock. Mr. Samuel Meredith, the 
guide, informed us that this natural chronometer con- 
tinues to mark time, from year to year, with wonderful 
uniformity of intervals between drops. 

EOCKY HALL. 

On our left there is a high opening in the wall half 
blocked up with huge bowlders or immense rocks that 
have tumbled down from time to time. !N"ot with- 
standing the roughness of the passage, it may be fol- 
lowed for more than two miles, but it is doubtful 
whether we would feel sufficiently rewarded for the 
trouble should we attempt to explore it. It is never 
shown to visitors. 

PICTUEES ON THE WALL. 

Now we are upon the threshold of that part of the 
cave so full of wonders and attractions for all lovers of 
pictures. The prevailin : color of the floor, walls, and 
, ceiling of the cave is dark gray. Here the ceiling is 
covered with an incrustation of gypsum, manganese 
or iron, producing the different shades of white or 
dark in proportion ; s the gypsum or the iron pre- 
dominates. In some cases there is a dark picture upon 
a white background, in others a white picture upon 
a dark background, and in still others, a black and 
white picture upon a gray background, giving the 
whole a variegated and fancif il appearance. "We pause 



Mammoth Cave. ^7 



here a minute and look around, tracing out the difier- 
ent kinds of animals. In the dim hght of our lamps, they 
appear wonderfully true to life. The longer we look 
the more difficult it becomes to resist the impression 
that we have actually entered the studio of some 
young artist who has just blocked out a first class 
menagerie. 

Here is a pair of pretty good bears ; there, a group 
of monkeys; yonder, a wildcat; farther over, a verita- 
ble elephant ; and farther on is a catamount crouch- 
ing upon a log ready to spring upon its victim. See 
how it gazes with an expression of fierce earnestness 
that might defy the king of beasts ! Over to the left 
is the big Indian, tossing his papoose playfully over to 
his squaw, seated at his feet. Many of these pictures 
are in various attitudes, displaying a grace of motion 
as nimble and airy as if they had been photographed 
upon the wall, by some magic art, with the sudden- 
ness of a fiash of lightning. 

THE GIANT'S COFFIN. 
Just one mile from the entrance, on the right side of 
our path, there is a large rock, fifty-seven feet long, 
detached from the rest, and standing up a little from 
the floor. This bears so perfect a resemblance to a 
huge coffin, that any one can see the fitness of the 
name of '^ Giant's Coffin," by which it is known. On 
our left the wall is abrupt, and the ceiling high above 
our heads, but on the right and in front the roof grad- 
ually slopes down toward the floor. Here the cave 



£8 MamTuoth Cave. 

makes an acute angle with itself, and just at the apex 
of the angle is 

McPHEESON'S MONUMENT. 

This is a rude pile of unhewn stone, erected hy his 
surviving stafl' officers to the memory of the gallant 
soldier whose name it bears. A stone is occasionally 
added to the pile by one of the General's friends, but 
like most other things in the cave, its growth is rather 
slow. 

Here we will leave the main cave awhile for scenes 
of a different character. Our path leads around the 
Giant's Coffin to the right. Now we must stoop, 
in order to enter a low, tortuous passage that leads 
downward and perhaps backward under the main cave 
to a series of rooms of considerable size known as the 

DESEETED CHAMBEES. 

The direction of these caverns is by no means regu- 
lar, nor do they continue on the same plane. The 
general tendency of the grade of the main cave is 
downward from the entrance, and the same is true of 
the passage we are now following. When we shall 
have reached the rivers, about a mile from this point, 
we will have descended nearly to the level of the Green 
river, which is, as already stated, one hundred and 
ninety-four feet below the entrance to the cave. 



Maimnoth Cave. 29 



STEPS OF TIME. 

Here we descend a flight of ten or twelve wooden 
steps, marvelously steep; then turning a little to the 
right, we follow a more convenient path that leads to a 
large room, one hundred feet in diameter. The floor 
is irregular and the ceiling low and concave. This 
is called 

THE WOODEN BOWL. 

It is probable that even this part of the cave was 
known to the Indians, for it is said that a wooden bowl 
of rude construction was found in this room, by the 
first white man that explored it. 

Here the wonderful formations begin to crowd on us 
thick and fast, and many objects of rare beauty will 
probably be passed unnoticed. 

BLACKSNAKE AVENUE 

leads from Wooden Bowl to the main cave. It 
derives its name from its serpentine course and black 
walls. It is now rarely visited. 

MAETHA'S PALACE. 

This is a conical little opening, dissolved into the 
solid rock that forms the roof above our heads. In all 
this region the slow work of rock carving is still going 
on. The little drops of water, falling at such inter- 
vals that they may be counted, are the assiduous agents 
by which these magnificent halls are fashioned. 



30 Mammoth Cave, 



EI CHA ED SON'S SEEING. 

The Avater does not only drop from above, but it also 

wells up from below : for liere in the midst of our path 

is a little basin of it, ready to quench the thirst of 

every comer. See how it sparkles as it runs away to 

resume its carving, humming a low song as it goes ! 

The smooth rocks that may answer the purpose of 

seats, and that cup by the spring, tell plainly enough 

what the guide means by leaving the basket here. 

We shall dine here to-day as we return from over 

the Styx. 

AECHEDWAY. 

We continue our journey along a grotto of sufficient 
hight to allow us to walk erect. 

The ceiling over head forms a gothic arch, similar 

to that in the main cave. Though not so grand and 

imposing, it is of similar formation, but on a smaller 

scale. The character of this hall changes but little till 

we reach 

SIDE-SADDLE EIT. 

This is an irregular opening in the plane of the floor, 
bearing some resemblance to a side saddle viewed from 
above. It is forty-five feet deep. Immediately over 
it is a huge irregular opening extending upward to the 
distance of forty feet or more. This is called 

MINEEYA'S DOME. 

These immense caverns extend downward and up- 
ward from the level of our path. They are so close to 



MamjJvotJt Cave. 



31 



the I'ight hand side that we may view them thoroughly 
without any danger of tumbling into them. Due care, 
however, should always be taken to avoid accident. 

Just on the left, and a little forward from this place, 
is the famous 

SOUNDING EOCK. 

This is a petrous formation nearly detached from the 
wall, resembling in shape the human ear. When struck 
by the hand it gives a low, sweet, musical tone. This 
point is rarely passed unnoticed. 

Close to the left side of our path is the mouth of the 

BOTTOMLESS PIT. 
This strange place was disarmed of some of its ter- 
ror when it was ascertained that it has a bottom 
said to be one hundred and seventy-five feet below the 
path, along which there is an iron railing to prevent 
sinners from straying into that pit. So far no one has 
ever come to grief in this yawning chasm. Immedi- 
ately over the pit is a high arch, similar to that over 
Side-Saddle Pit. This is known as 

SHELBY'S DOME. 
Some very singular and beautiful formations may be 
seen up in this dome, by throwing a Bengal light in 
such a position as to illuminate it to the top. Scroll 
W'Ork, corrugated panels and fanciful projections are 
lavished everywhere in such profusion as to bewilder 
the eye. The click of dropping water is heard at 
measured intervals in the dreary darkness around, 



3'B Marrmvoth Cave. 



reminding one of dropping nuts, or the falling of 
autumnal leaves, when the slowly rising morning 
sun unlocks the iay fetters that had bound them to 
the parent stem. But we can not pause to conjure 
up reflections. 

BRIDGE OF SIGHS. 
This is a wooden structure three or four feet wide, 
and ten feet long, spanning a chasm between Side-Sad- 
dle Pit on our right and Bottomless Pit on our left. 
There is a wooden hand-rail on each side of this nar- 
row bridge, so that there is no danger in passing over 
it. Just here there is an old ghost of a bridge that 
was thrown over an arm of Side-Saddle Pit, and then 
abandoned half finished, for fear it might decay, be- 
ing kept constantly wet by the dropping water. ISo 
one ventures upon it. 

WINBIIjq^G LABYRINTH. 
Just beyond the little wooden bridge we turn ofi* 
abruptly to the right, and descend a long, steep 
wooden stairway, to the bottom of a narrow, winding 
gorge, scarcely wide enough for two persons to pass. 
We follow this winding gorge toward almost every 
cardinal point of the compass, ascend a second stair- 
way, and then descend a third, and finally reach a 
window-like opening on our left. Here we are upon 
the threshold of great wonders and indescribable beau- 
ties. This is 



Mammoth Cave. 



33 



GOEIN'S DOME, 
and the crowning attraction of the day's journey. 
By holding our Ughts in through this opening, we see a 
huo-e curtain of limestone a hundred feet long, sus- 
pended far above and stretching its wavy folds of 
petrous drapery man}^ yards below our feet, termin- 
ating about twenty feet above the floor. This dome 
is two hundred feet high and sixty feet across the widest 
part. The guide goes up to another opening and throws 
down a Bengal light, which enables us to take the 
dimensions of this vast cavern. Looking up we 
can see a huge glimmering dome a hundred feet above 
our heads. We catch but an imperfect glimpse of this 
great wonder, yet we are impressed with its grandeur 
and matchless beauty. But we can not tarry here, so 
we retrace our steps toward the arched way. 



THE AMEKICAN EAGLE. 

As we return through this narrow gorge, just after 
descending the flight of wooden steps, we see on the 
rocky wall to our right, a huge spread-eagle, fixed im- 
movably upon the rock. It is not the work of art, but 
of Nature's own fashioning ; perhaps not one of 
her best specimens, but still it can easily be recognized. 
Having ascended the long flight of steps, we find our- 
selves in the same grotto we started from. 

EEVELEES' HALL. 

This is a wild, triangular room, rough and irregular 



SJi- Mammoth Cave. 



in outline. Besides the passage by which we entered, 

there is one leading off* a little to the right, and quite 

large enough to admit a man on horseback. It may 

be followed for a mile or more, and contains pome 

objects of interest. It is not shown to visitors except 

on rare occasions. The chief attractions are Pensacola 

Avenue, Wild Hall, Snowball Arch and Pine Apple 

Tree. 

SCOTCHMAN'S TEAP. 

By some frightful commotion among the rocks, per- 
haps ages ago, the most elaborately ornamented parts 
of the cave came near being vailed from human sight 
forever. The huge stone cover, that would have blocked 
up this passage to the rivers, but for the apex of its 
angle, that caught against the opposite wall, still leans 
over the door, at an angle of forty -five degrees. With 
some misgivings we pass under this trap, descend a 
declivity, and enter the 

YALLEY OF HUMILITY. 

Here we perform a grievous amount of stooping, 
and but for the name of the passage, which serves to 
keep us in a serene and amiable mood, we might re- 
call some of the characters in Dante's Inferno. 

Suddenly we enter a new passage at right angles. 
This is a little higher in the ceiling, and allows us to 
breathe freely. The part leading to the right is called 

BUNYAN'S WAY. 

This may be followed for miles of tortuous windings 



Maimnoth Cave. 35 



that only perplex the explorer by bringing him 

into his old path again. That leading to our left is 

called 

BUCHANAN'S WAY. 

This may also be followed for a great distance with- 
out coming to anything very definite or specially in- 
teresting. We choose to follow it, however, for about 
forty yards. Here we will turn oft" at right angles 
into that unique passage known as the Winding Way, 
or more familiarly as 

FAT MAN'S MISEEY. 
This is a narrow, meandering path, one hundred and 
five yards long, cut or dissolved by water, about eighteen 
or twenty inches wide, and three feet deep into a solid 
rock, and of wonderful uniformity in both width and 
depth. This serpentine channel bears the above name 
because it will not permit any one to pass, whose size 
exceeds certain prescribed limits. The largest man 
who was ever known to pass here, weighed two hun- 
dred and sixty pounds. It was not without many a 
labored eftbrt that he succeeded in emerging from its 
inner portal. Before this channel was cut, there seems 
to have been a horizontal aperture of several feet be- 
tween the difierent strata of limestone, and extending 
to a considerable distance on each side of the lowest 
part naturally sought by the water. From the bottom 
of the channel to the ceiling, the distance varies from 
four and a half to six feet. The path is a perfect 
negative or lithograph of running water. The little 



oC) ManunotJi Cave. 



waves aud ripples stand out from the sides and bottom 
in bass-relief, as if the water had beeu suddenly cou- 
verted into stone. 

After being thoroughly ground in this relentless mill, 
we emerge into a large open hall. Here we are glad 
to take a breathing spell, aud devise some wa}-, if pos- 
sible, bj which to get back without doing penance a 
second time, for possessing a full stature. But there 
is no escape from a second trial, unless we choose to 
remain in the realms of eternal darkness. The fates 
are as unrelenting as Xeptune, when the voyager is 
about to cross the line for the first time. 

GEEAT EELIEF. 
This is a cavern of considerable size, entered at right 
angles by the wmding way. "SVe will follow it to the 
right. The same characteristics abound here as else- 
where. Xo odor of any kind is perceptible. The tem- 
perature is the same as near the entrance. There is no 
motion whatever in tlie air. Xo signs of animal or 
vegetable life are met with, except perhaps a few rat 
tracks. An almost palpable darkness and a painful 
stillness pervade this gloomy region perpetually, ex- 
cept when the lamps of an exploring party shed their 
feeble light in these grand halls, or the swollen rivers 
dash against the rocks with sullen roar. 

ODD FELLOWS' LIXKS. 
Three large links of a powerful chain are stretched 
across beneath, and firmly adherent to the ceilinsr. 



Mammoth Cave. 



They are each aboat two feet long and as thick as a 
stout man's arm. They are somewhat discolored, show- 
ing the presence of a trace of iron in the limestone 
composing them. The peculiar shape and disposition 
of the insoluble limestone are among those freaks of 
nature we constantly meet with and yet are unable to 
explain. Just a few rods farther on are two promi- 
nent seams or ridges, the one branching off from the 
other, and resembling somewhat in shape and direction 
in relation to each other a portion of the junction of 
the 

OHIO AND :VIISSIS3IPPI RITEES. 

These prominent ridges, like the links, contain a trace 
of iron which resists the action of the water, while thie 
more soluble limestone is dis8<jlved away. They 
are fifteen or twenty feet long, and stand out in bacS- 
relief several inches from the ceiling. 

RIYER HALL. 

^Ve have now reached the point to which the water 
sometimes rises in the cave daring a very wet sea- 
son. Low water mark is forty feet below this point. 
On the first of April of this year, the arches over the 
river were only a few feet under water. A fall of 
six feet would make the navigation of the rivers 
and the exploration of the entire cave quite prac- 
ticable. 

The statement thai these rivers are subject to sudden 
tidal fluctuations has engendered some prejudice in the 



38 Mammoth Cave. 

minds of the people against crossing them. It is true 
they do rise and fall, but this is due to neither lunar 
nor mysterious influence. They rise as the Green river 
rises, with which they doubtless communicate by un- 
known passages. They fall much slower than the 
Green river, because these passages are too small to 
permit the water to escape as rapidly as does that in 
the channel of Green river. 

But, says one, how shall I understand that? Will 
more water run into a barrel than will run out of it in 
the same time, the apertures of ingress and egress and 
the pressure being the same? Certainly not! The 
same cause that will make the Green river rise, will 
also make the fountains of the regions round about 
rise, and why not the rivers in the cave? These rivers 
do not rise suddenly without some obvious reason for 
it any sooner than other rivers. 

The general tendency of the rivers in the cave is 
that of subsidence. The Lethe, which was a running 
stream a few years ago, is now a standing pool at low 
water. The waters' have cut deeper channels and 
sought lower levels. The caverns we now navigate in 
boats will probably some day be passed through by the 
tourist on dry shod, unless the level of the Green river 
should arrest the descent of these streams. 

THE DEAD SEA. 
This dismal looking pool of standing water is in the 
hall above described. The surface is from forty to hfty 
feet below the floor of the hall, from which it is viewed. 



Mammoth Cave. Sd 



The surface of the Dead Sea comprises an area of about 
a thousand square feet. If we throw a stone into it 
as almost every one is tempted to do, there comes back 
a thud that seems to awaken a legion of slumbering 
echoes. 

The water of the Dead Sea is perhaps twenty feet 
deep. At one place we may approach very near its 
surface and almost feel the strange gloom that hovers 
over it. 

THE EIYEE STYX. 

The source and mouth of this mystical river are un- 
known. It is probably in some way connected with 
other rivers in the cave, as it rises and falls at the same 
time with them. It is thirty or forty feet wide, and 
varies from twenty to fifty feet in depth, and is five 
hundred feet long. It may be navigated the whole 
length of the stream. 

THE NATURAL BRIDGE. 

This is a limestone arch spanning the Styx twenty-five 
feet above that stream. We will pass over this bridge. 
It is well to be careful in this region of the cave, as 
there are several slippery places and low ceilings. 

With ordinary caution no harm can befall any one; 
yet a misstep might subject one to an unpleasant bath 
in the Styx. The next point of interest is 

LAKE LETHE. 

A strange feeling creeps over us as we look for the 
first time upon this quiet pool of water and the little 



^0 Maimnoth Cave. 



boat moored to its recently discovered shore. On each 
side is a wall of massive rock, and overhead an arched 
ceiling spans the chasm ninety feet above the water. 
We are now about three hundred and seventy-five feet 
beneath the surface of the earth — beyond the reach of 
light or heat, burn the sun never so fiercely. No sign 
of life is here, save what we bring and will soon take 
away again. No carking cares pursue seething, fret- 
ting humanity to these dreary halls. We have for- 
gotten the outer world, absorbed in transports of awe 
and admiration. 

This is the end of our explorations in this direction 
to-day. To-morrow we will begin at this point the 
far more interesting work of navigating the rivers and 
exploring halls of matchless brilliancy, more charming 
in scenic effect than oriental palaces. 

We will now retrace our steps over the Styx by the 
bridge and examine for a few minutes 

THE BACON CHAMBEE. 

This is a low cavern in one of the grottoes putting 
off from River Hall. It is mostly interesting for the 
peculiar formation of its ceiling. The pendant masses 
of limestone rock bear a striking resemblance to hams 
of meat. A little to one side there is wrought into the 
ceiling a huge inverted kettle or large bell without 
a clapper. These fantastic formations were all carved 
into the solid rock by the action of water. But how 
the water was enabled to act against gravity is not so 
clear to my mind. One theory, however, presents 



Mammoth Cave. Jfl 

itself as a solution to the question. This ornamented 
ceiling is just a little above the present high water 
mark, and as there is a vast deposit of sand upon the 
floor, it is natural to suppose that the water rose period- 
ically high enough to touch the ceiling, and by contin- 
ued waving motions succeeded in carving out these 
formations, resemblins: the contents of a smoke house 
As our allotted time is about expired, we will hasten 
back, thread again the Winding Way, probably under 
protest ; fight our stooping battles over again ; emerge 
from beneath the Scotchman's Trap, and quench our 
thirst at Richardson's Spring. The guide now brings 
forth the basket, whose savory contents are eagerly ap- 
propriated. The sandwiches and cold chicken vanish 
from sight as the frost before the rays of the morning 
sun. Our physical forces are renewed, and we inwardly 
thank 

" The powers that make mankind their care, 
And dish them out their bill of fare." 

THE ATMOSPHEEE 
is a mild nitrous oxide, so cool and bracing that we may 
journey for miles without feeling exhausted. The pro- 
portions of oxygen and nitrogen bear the same rela- 
tion to each other in the atmosphere of the cave as 
they do in the air of the outer world, but the average of 
many observations shows the carbonic acid gas to be 
much less. In the dry parts of the cave there are 
about two parts of carbonic acid gas to ten thousand 
parts of air. In the vicinity of the rivers there is still 



^^ Mamjnoth Cave. 

less of the former. In those parts not commonly vis- 
ited and not frequented by bats, no ammonia has been 
detected, nor have the most delicate reagents shown 
the slightest trace of azone. 

The amount of moisture varies in different parts of 
the cave. The hygroscopic properties of the nitrate of 
lime that is found in many of the rooms prevent the 
putrefactive decomposition of all animal matter. De- 
funct animals will mummify rather than decompose. 

The bodies of two Indians were found in the cave 
many years ago. They were dry and well preserved. 

Delicate females frequently do the long journey. It is 
their almost universal testimony that they have experi- 
enced more fatigue from a single hour's shopping than 
from this underground journey of eighteen miles. 
Some languor is usually felt after coming into the 
warmer air of the outer world, but the refreshing sleep 
usually enjoyed on the following night exercises a pow- 
erfully restorative influence. 

ON THE EETURN. 

As we have two points of great interest still before 
us, we press onward, pausing occasionally to inspect 
some points of interest too hastily passed before. In 
a short time we again enter the main cave, behind 
the Giant's Coffin. We can not recognize the pecu- 
liar shape of this rock till we come round in front 
to the point from which we first viewed its singular pro- 
portions. 



Mammoth Cave. Jj.3 

THE ACUTE ANGLE. 
This is the point at which we left the main cave a 
few hours ago, and just here we will take up the clue 
and pursue our observations in this high hall. The 
same architectural analogues are apparent at every step, 
and the ceiling is covered with grotesque pictures of 
men and beasts. Our eyes have become so accustomed 
to the pitchy darkness that we see even better now than 
at any time before. 

THE DESEETED VILLAGE. 

Just beyond the angle of the main cave, there are 
still standing the roofless remaijis of several stone 
cabins, which were erected over a quarter of a century 
ago. These were occupied by a number of consump- 
tives, who for a time took up their quiet abode here, 
hoping to be benefited by a permanent residence in 
the cave. I believe there were fifteen of them. They 
entered in September, 1843, and remained till January. 
Three of the number died here, and the rest not feeling 
materially benefited, left the cave, and nearly, if not 
quite all of them, died soon after. 

EFFECTS UPON ANIMAL AND VEGE- 
TABLE LIFE. 

As a sanitarium, the cave will probably never be a 
success. Since the sun is the great source of light, heat, 
and therefore life, it is hardly probable that the pro- 
tracted absence of its influence can be of any therapeu- 



Jl,4 Mammoth Cave. 

tic value in chronic diseases. The contrary may be 
expected, except in some cerebral affections. 

A number of trees of various kinds were planted near 
these cabins, and notwithstanding they were carefully 
irrigated, they showed no more signs of budding than 
if they had been stone or iron. The first time we en- 
tered the cave, the sapless remains of some of the trees 
were still standing as so many witnesses, bearing testi- 
mony to the fact that the light of the sun is as neces- 
sary to the life, health and growth of plants and trees as 
moisture or warmth. The absence of any one of these 
three conditions for a considerable time, is equally fatal 
to vegetable life. !N^o experiments have yet been made 
to ascertain the effect of this intense darkness and 
strange stillness upon persons in health. 

It is said that the cattle that were used in the cave 
grew sleek and fat in a few months, without extra feed. 
Persons in ordinary health, or even invalids, stimulated 
by the novelty of new and beautiful sights at every 
advance, may remain in the cave for a few hours, or 
even days, without sustaining either temporary or per- 
manent injury. Short and easy trips into the cave 
have been known to effect a cure in chronic dysentery 
and diarrhoea, when all other measures had failed. 

In the case of those consumptives who spent several 
months in the cave, it is probable that what they may 
have gained from a stimulating atmosphere of uniform 
temperature, was fully counteracted by the absence of 
solar influence, and while they grew no better, they 
were probably no worse than they would have been 



Mammoth Cave. 45 



had they never entered the cave. They grew rapidly 
worse, however, after leaving the cave, for want of the 
stimulus to which they had become accustomed, as 
they all succumbed so soon after returning into the 
less bracing atmosphere of the outer world. This is 
conclusive evidence that the absence of light favors 
the development of the tubercular diathesis. 

Hopeful, as consumptives generally are, the pros- 
pect could not have been very pleasing at best. Just 
imagine a company of more than half a score of 
cadaverous-looking beings, ill-favored and thin as Pha- 
raoh's lean kine, wandering hither and thither in dark- 
ness, or like specters in the dim light of their tapers, 
breaking now and then the almost painful stillness by 
a still more painful and sepulchral cough ! Can such 
a gloomy prospect give rational promise of benefit to 
the patient ? 

AMEEICANISM. 

While we are trying to divest ourselves of the sad 
impressions left by the above picture, we will just step 
into this dreary old hospital- ward of a cabin, and take 
a look at the inside. Every crack is made the recep- 
tacle of cards of business firms in every city in the 
Union. The floor is littered over' with a legion of 
ghastly fragments, which, like the dead in "Westmin- 
ster Abbey, were obliged to yield their places, to 
make room for their successors. After a time these 
too must yield to the overwhelming torrent that fol- 
lows. An agent of a well-known sewing machine 



^^ Majmnoth Cave. 



manufacturing establishment, obliterated at a single 
stroke a whole legion of the smaller fry, by stretching 
up a circular of mammoth proportions. 

THE STAE CHAMBEE. 

A little farther along the avenue enlarges in every 
direction, assuming the dimensions of a vast elongated 
dome, reserving its characteristic entablature, archi- 
trave frieze and cornice complete, but on a proportion- 
ately grander scale. The concave ceiling is covered 
with a dark incrustation of iron and manganese, in- 
terspersed with shining crystals of gypsum or diapha- 
nous selenite, giving the whole, in the dim light of our 
lamps, a striking resemblance to the starry sky. Though 
a miniature edition of the great starry universe, the 
illusion is wonderfully complete. Still we feel assured 
that this is not our native sky, for not a single familiar 
constellation appears above the horizon. 

By consent of the party, the guide will here assign 
us the most eligible point from which to witness a rare 
exhibition of light and shade. He takes all our lamps 
and passes slowly away, but in such direction as to 
throw the combined force of the lights upon the 
high vaulted ceiling, thus bringing out beautiful con- 
stellations of a wonderful variety of magnitudes. When 
the proper angle is reached, the rays of light are re- 
flected from an elongated, wing-shaped crystal, pro- 
ducing a beautiful comet of great size and brilliancy. 
The likeness of the starry heavens is now so complete 
that we gaze in mute astonishment. The guide 



Mammoth Cave. Jf.7 



passes, by detour, behind the rocks, leaving us in the 
blackest of darkness, to enjoy our own reflections. 
Though we can hear the muffled throbbing of our 
hearts, as the vital fluid is forced through the system, 
the death-like stillness soon becomes painful. 

The minutes begin to drag their weary lengths, and 
we begin to feel as if the whole machinery of time 
were moving slower and slower, with a constantly re- 
tarding velocity. Just as it is about to stop, to our 
great relief, we catch a gleam of dim twilight, loom- 
ing out from a frightful-looking chasm on our left 
casting the shadow of a projecting rock upon the op- 
posite wall. See its spectral visage, like the ghost of 
Hamlet, stealthily approaching us! Ah, it is gone! 
and all is again inky darkness, worse than before. 
What! was this an illusion? — one of those incohe- 
rencies of mind which it is said invariably attack and 
bewilder persons lost in the cave ! No, it was the light 
of the lamps shining through an aperture of the 
rocks, giving us a gleam of hope as they passed ! Now 
we begin to attach a value to daylight which we never 
appreciated before. 

The guide, with all his lights, has again appeared in 
full view at another aperture farther beyond, from 
which point he again entertains us with a beautiful 
stellar exhibition and dissolving views. Arranging a 
part of the lights so as to enable us to take in the dim 
dimensions of this vast dome, giving everything an un- 
certain, ghost-like appearance, he again retires with 



4^ Mammoth Cave. 

the rest, and approaches us by a difl'erent route, so as 
to cast the shadow of a projecting rock upon the ceil- 
ing, simulating an approaching thunder-cloud ; reced- 
ing again slowly, the cloud again vanishes, leaving the 
sky clear, calm and serene as in a mild summer evening. 
We would fain linger here and gaze upon this min- 
iature firmament, but the guide intrudes upon our de- 
lightful reverie, by announcing that it is time to take 
up the line of march. 

FLOATING CLOUD EOOM. 
This is a magnificent hall, a quarter of a mile long, 
corresponding with the Star Chamber in width and 
hight. The appearance of clouds is produced by the 
scaling off of the black gypsum, exposing the white 
surface of the sulphate of soda beneath. The efltect of 
this illusion is wonderfully charming. The clouds 
seem to float from the Star Chamber over the Chief 
City. 

PEOCTOE'S AECADE. 
This wonderful tunnel is beautiful beyond descrip- 
tion. It is one hundred feet wide, forty-five feet high 
and three-quarters of a mile long. The ceiling is 
smooth and the walls vertical, as if built by a mason. 
When this arcade is well lit up we feel that the descrip- 
tive powers of a Seneca could not do it justice. 

KINNEY'S AEENA. 
This hall, a hundred feet in diameter, contains a 
curiosity about which there has been much speculation. 



Majmnoth Cave. 4^ 

It is a stick of wood, several inches thick and three 
feet long, projecting out of the ceiling many feet above 
the floor. How this stick came there, or when, must 
long remain an unsolved problem. 

WEIGHT'S EOTUNDA. 
This large hall is beyond the S Bend. It is four 
hundred feet in its shortest diameter. The ceiling is 
about level, but the floor inclines so as to make it at 
one side about ten feet, and at the other forty-flve feet 
lower than the ceiling. 

NICHOLAS' MONUMENT. 
At the eastern part of "Wright's Rotunda is a column 
four feet in diameter, extending from the floor to the 
ceiling. This is known by the above name in honor 
of Nicholas Branford, the oldest cave guide now living, 
and still to be found in the vicinity of the cave. 

FOX AVENUE 

is about five hundred yards in length, and communi- 
cates with the S Bend and the Rotunda. 

Some distance beyond Wright's Rotunda the main 
cave sends oft' several avenues. That leading to the 
left leads to the Black Chamber, so called because the 
walls and ceiling are covered with a crust of black 
gypsum. This hall is one hundred and fifty feet wide 
and twenty feet high. It is gloomy enough to suit the 
most despondent of rejected lovers. 

Two avenues put off' from this dark room. The 
former communicates with Fairy Grotto. 



60 Mammoth Cave. 

This is a mile in length and contains a grand collec- 
tion of stalagmites. The other communicates with 
Solitary Cave, at the entrance of which there is a small 
cascade. 

THE CHIEF CITY 

is situated in the main cave, beyond Rocky Pass. It is 
about two hundred feet in diameter and forty feet in 
hight. The floor is covered with piles of rock that 
present the appearance of the ruins of an ancient city. 
Three miles beyond this point the cave terminates 
abruptly. In other words it is blocked up by rocks 
that tumbled down from the ceiling, as at the end of 
Dickson's Cave. The Cave does not end here. "Who 
ever will dig through the barrier may be well paid for 
his trouble. N^o mortal eye has ever beheld what lies 
beyond these rocks. It is not known for a certainty 
that any rocks have fallen from the ceiling in any 
part of the cave since the first white man ventured into 
it beyond sight of the entrance. 

BACK TEACK. 
Again we retrace our steps through this grand pan- 
orama of wonders, pass the Deserted Village, turn 
around McPherson's Monument at the acute angle, 
take our bearings at the Giant's Coffin, and move 
toward the entrance. In about fifteen minutes, or per- 
haps less, we begin to recognize familiar objects. The 
old pump logs and leaching vats on the left, remind 
us that we are near the entrance of the 



Marmnoth Cave. 



51 



GOTHIC AECADE. 
Here we ascend the flight of steps fifteen feet high, 
on our left, enter an open passage leading oft' at 
right angles from the main cave. About forty yards 
beyond these wooden steps, in the left hand wall, is a 
little niche called the Seat of the Mummy. In this 
niche was found the body of a squaw, as dry as a her- 
ring. She was dressed in the skins of wild animals, 
and ornamented with trinkets usually worn by the 
aborigines. A few feet from the niche was found the 
body of an Indian child, similarly dressed. When dis- 
covered it was in the sitting posture, resting against 
the wall. How long these bodies had remained there is 
not known. "When found they were in a state of per- 
fect preservation. For a time they were exhibited 
through the country as curiosities, and finally deposited 
in Peale's Museum. "We pass for the distance of a 
quarter of a mile, beneath a low, smooth rock, resem- 
bling the ceiling of a plastered room. IS'ow we enter a 
considerable hall, that had originally a beautiful white 
coating of lime. This is called the 

EEGISTEE'S EOOM 
because the smooth rock over head is everywhere 
smoked over with names and rude characters or pic- 
tures of animals. These were placed here a long time 
ago. The proprietors very justly prohibit all such im- 
proprieties from being committed in these halls now. 
1^0 candles are allowed to be taken into the cave. 



5'2' Mam/moth Cave. 

It is not long since that imploring appeals were made 
for candles, instead of lamps, but the applicants were 
rebuked by peremptory refusal. 

This part of the cave, like the others, leads off in 
zigzag directions. It is stated by the guides that it 
even crosses the main cave on a different plane ; though 
this is not certain, as no surveyor's compass is per- 
mitted to enter the cave, and for reasons we need not 
state. 

GOTHIC CHAPEL. 

We next reach a picturesque little dome full of won- 
ders. The arch forming the roof is about thirty feet 
above the floor, supported by pillars of stalactitic form- 
ation so disposed as to make gothic arches of great 
beauty and regularity. How came these pillars here? 
Some of them are thirty feet high and from one foot to 
three feet and upward in diameter. More than half a 
dozen of these pillars are in this hall ; but whence 
came they ? It is worth the while to study them a little. 
Examine them closely and we fiud they are composed 
of carbonate of lime in crystals; or, in other words, crys- 
tallized limestone. We must come to the conclusion 
that they were carried here, set up in their places, 
and then cemented by water. At first this view 
seems unnatural and unreasonable, but most probably 
it is the only rational view after all. We have 
seen that the water, under certain circumstances, will 
dissolve the limestone and hold the fine particles in 
solution just as it will hold sugar or salt in solution. 



Maimnoth Cave. 53 



"We also have shown that the cave was formed hy the 
rocks being actually dissolved by cold water, and the 
particles of lime being carried away in a state of solution. 
It is this water, impregnated with dissolved hmestone, 
that constitutes what is known as hard water. If 
we take a strong solution of salt and allow the water 
to evaporate, the salt will remain in beautiful crystals. 
If this solution of salt be allowed to drop at great in- 
tervals from a string, acting upon the principle of a 
syphon, there will form a pendant mass of crystalline 
salt about the string ; this is called a stalactite. Just 
beneath the string there will be formed a crystalline 
mass of salt growing upward. This is called a stalag- 
mite. But this stalagmite will not be formed if the 
intervals between the drops are not sufficiently great 
to allow all the water of the first drop to evaporate and 
the salt to become crystallized before the occurrence 
of the next drop. If the drops fall a little too fre- 
quently they will melt away the stalagmite rather 
than occasion it to grow. 

These immense masses of limestone, weighing more 
than ten tons, were formed just in the way above 
described. The lime, held in solution by the water, 
becomes crystallized under favorable circumstances. 
The pure water is taken up in an invisible form by 
the air, and whatever salt was contained in the water 
remains behind in a crystaUized form; hence, rain 
water is always soft or free from salt. In the still 
air of the cave, perhaps one drop in twenty-four hours 



dJj, Marmnoth Cave. 



is quite as fast as the water could evaporate and form 
crystals of sufficient hardness to withstand the shock 
of the next drop, without being reduced to the liquid 
state again. The amount of lime in a single drop of 
water must be small when crystallized. It is more 
probable that one drop per week is quite as frequent as 
is consistent with the growth of a stalagmite, or even 
one drop per month might not be too slow to favor the 
most rapid growth. It will be borne in mind, if the 
drops occur only a little too frequently to favor the 
growth of a pillar, they will occasion its destruction. 
It is said that the growth of one of these pillars, in the 
space of thirty years, is about equal to the thickness of 
a sheet of writing paper. It requires about thirty sheets 
of paper to be equal to one-eighth of an inch in thick- 
ness, or two hundred and, say, fifty sheets to be an 
inch thick. l!^ow, if it require thirty years to grow the 
thickness of one sheet of paper, it will require two 
hundred and fifty times thirty years (seven thousand 
five hundred years) for the growth of one inch of the 
pillars. The growth of a single foot would require, at 
this rate, ninety thousand years. As some of these 
pillars are thirty feet high, it is fair to suppose that 
they grew half the distance from above and half from 
below in the same time. At this rate, it would have 
required nine hundred and forty thousand years for 
the completion of one of these shady old props. 

If we bear in mind that these caverns have all been 
formed by the slow process of solution at low tempera- 



Marmnoth Cave. 55 



ture, and that this process had ceased in this immense 
hall ere the foundation of these pillars was laid, we 
must come to the conclusion that mother earth is en- 
titled to reverence for age beyond what is usually paid 
to her. The Florida reefs afford another instance of 
proof of the great antiquity of this terrestrial ball. 

PBEFOEATE STALAGMITES. 
Sometimes little pendant masses of limestone, re- 
sembling icicles in shape, are found with a hole pass- 
ing through them, from end to end, straight and 
smooth as if bored with a gimlet. These perforations 
are probably formed as follows : A drop of water, hold- 
ing in solution a large quantity of lime, remains sus- 
pended from the same point, and as its supply is just 
equal to the evaporation, it never falls. By and by, a 
little ring is formed around the base of the drop, and 
since there is no evaporation inside of the ring, it can 
not be filled up by crystallization. A series of these 
rings is formed on the same principle, and the tube is 
constantly full of water, receiving its supply from that, 
that runs down the outside to the opening at the apex, 
where it is forced in and held by atmospheric pressure. 
As long as evaporation continues the tube is prolonged 
downward. 

THE BEIDAL CHAMBEE. 

To young folks, it is an interesting little story that 
suggested the name of this hall. It runs thus : A ro- 
mantic young lady was here joined to the partner of 
her choice, notwithstanding the promise she made to 



56 Mammoth Cave. 

her maternal parent, on the latter's death -bed, that she 
would not marry any man on the face of the earth — 
and she didn't. 

OLD AEM CHAIE. 

This is a large stalagmite, resembling an arm chair. 
It is considered one of the curiosities of the hall. 
There are, also, a great many others, worthy a passing 
notice, such as the Elephant's Head, Vulcan's Shop, 
Napoleon's Breastworks, the Pillars of Hercules, and 
Gatewood's Dining Table. These are all stalagmitic 
formations or incomplete pillars, their stalactites hang- 
ing over them. Many of these pendant masses were 
recently joined to their stalagmites, but not very firmly 
cemented ; others may yet be joined together ages 
hence. It is pretty evident that the pillars were formed 
in the manner described, as they are all thinner at the 
middle than at the extremities. 

LOVER'S LEAP. 

Just a little beyond these interesting pillars, the 
floor is let down about fifty feet, and a long point of 
rock projects out over the Devil's Cooling Tub, and 
innumerable and unknown caverns beneath. We wjU 
now retrace our steps, and in half an hour find our- 
selves descending the wooden stairway into the main 
cave. 

Our day's work is almost complete. "We have just 
seen the three great points of interest that are univer- 
sally acknowledged the grandest caverns of the kind 



Mammoth Cave. 



57 



in the world. These are the Star Chamber, Gorin's 
Dome, and Stalagmite Hall. Whatever of grandeur 
or beauty they may possess entitling them to the dis- 
tinction of master pieces, they still lack the orna- 
mental embellishments of those enchanting palaces 
beyond the rivers. But of these we will have more to 
say on the morrow ! We have now been in the cave 
about four hours, and as we enter the narrows, the 
outward current of air begins to play a hazardous game 
with our enfeebled lamps, but as we are in sight of 
day-light, we allow them to be extinguished. 

END OF THE SHOET JOUENEY. 

As we approach the little cascade, its peculiar hum- 
ming sound strikes the ear with a clearness not noticed 
before, and the sky seems to wear a brighter hue. We 
should linger some minutes at the floor of the cavern, 
in order to allow the eye and the lungs to become 
accustomed to the new conditions, before ascending 
into the bright sun-light and warmer air. After 
ascending the steps at the mouth of the cave, it is 
well for the tourist, especially if he have weak lungs, 
to rest at least ten minutes within a few yards of the 
break where the cool air of the cave is quite distinctly 
felt, thus becoming gradually accustomed to the warmer 
air of the outer world. If this precaution be neglected, 
sudden and severe prostration may follow. 

The line between the cool air of the cave, and the 
warm air of the outer world is so accurately main- 
tained that we may stand in the one and thrust the 



58 Marmnoth Cave. 



hand into the other, and feel the difference of temper- 
ature quite distinctly. The shadows of the trees and 
their leaves are noticeably dark, forming a strange con- 
trast with the bright sunshine. The harsh jargon of 
myriads of crickets and other insects, and the chirping 
of birds are soon lost upon the senses. The pupil of 
the eye, on coming out of the cave, is wonderfully en- 
larged, hence the strange appearances of the light and 
the shadow. If the eye be a strong one, it will soon 
correct itself, and everything will wear its natural ap- 
pearance again. 

VEGETABLE ODOES. 

Persons who have been long at sea, can smell the 
land when they approach very close to it. Coming out 
of the cave,the grasses, flowers, and leaves seem to ex- 
hale odors of wonderful sweetness. In some persons 
the sense of smell has become so acute by remaining in 
the cave a few hours, that the romance of a pure coun- 
try air is forever lost to them. Odors that were sweet 
to them before, have become distasteful, and in some 
cases even nauseous. This is very easily understood 
and needs no explanation. Ascending the hill to the 
hotel, we feel languid and oppressed with the close- 
ness of the air, but this soon passes off, and we are 
all the better for being one day's journey the wiser. 

OWNEESHIP. 

The cave, with seventeen hundred acres of land, is 
owned by the Croghan heirs. At the death of the 



Marmnoth Cave. 59 



original owner, Judge Underwood, of Bowling Green, 
became their trustee. The judge being well advanced 
in years, is about taking the necessary steps to obtain 
a decree of court to enable him to sell the property. 
Should it fall into the hands of enterprising capitalists, it 
will probably become one of the most desirable, con- 
venient, and interesting summer resorts on the con- 
tinent. 

The soil in this part of Kentucky is unsurpassed in 
productiveness. The peach and the grape grow to 
great perfection, and rarely fail. Mr. A. L. Mallory 
showed me a fine peach-tree in his garden at Cave 
City, which I found on measuring to be six feet high 
and five inches around the tree at the ground. This 
tree sprung from the seed less than one year previ- 
ous, and was consequently the result of a single sum- 
mer's growth. Apples, too, and small fruit may be cul- 
tivated with profit. The seasons are mild compared 
with Southern Ohio. Spring opens about two weeks 
earlier in the regions of the cave than at Cincinnati. 
On the first of April the general appearances of Spring 
around Cave City were as strongly marked as they 
were at Cincinnati twenty days later. 

NATURAL BEAUTIES. 
This quiet retreat combines nearly all the advantages 
of a first- class summer resort. There is a bountiful 
supply of pure, sweet water, fresh air, and sunshine or 
shade, as we prefer. We are free from the noise, dust 
and bustle of crowded thoroughfares, surrounded by 



60 Mammoth Cave. 

extensive shady forests, high hills, and deep, cool val- 
leys. The wild deer and wild turkey roam here at will, 
even at this day. 

It is just the place for a pleasure-seeker or invalid. 
Our every want is amply provided for by the obliging 
host. "We are free to spend the evening as we choose, 
without conforming to the conventionalities of Long 
Branch or Saratoga. If we dance we will here enjoy 
it. In the absence of nearly every exciting cause, 
I^ature claims her right, and we retire early, because 
we wish to. After the preliminary preparations, we 
bid the world good night, and Morpheus takes us 
gently into his embrace, and soars away to the land of 
pleasant dreams. Early next morning we are awak- 
ened from sweet slumber by the music of birds and the 
fragrance of roses stealing through the open window, 
and pervading our apartment. 

The highest degree of bodily health and mental vigor 
is generally found in connection with that condition 
of the system which accepts no more than the least 
amount of recuperative agent, capable of satisfying its 
real wants. To have slept just enough is a great lux- 
ury, while too little or too much sleep is equally inju- 
rious. We dismiss the god of dreams at once, and 
exclaim with Sancho Panza, " blessed be the man who 
first invented sleep," and add, by way of variety, the 
whole feathered tribe, and the floral dictionary. If 
they do occasionally cut short our morning nap, they 
also bring us closer to Nature's self. Our loss is doubly 



Marrvmoth Cave. 61 



restored in tasting the fresh, pure air, before it is tainted 
by the breath of any lazy man, and in witnessing the 
glory of an original sunrise. 

Breakfast over, we prepare for the long journey. 

THE GUIDES, 

being amply freighted with oil, matches, lights and 
refreshments, provide us again with newly-trimmed 
lamps, and we take up the line of march out through 
the garden and down the hill as before. The same 
sights greet us on every hand, and emotions similar to 
those of the previous day are awakened by the odors of 
fresh green leaves and the songs of the merry birds. 

The morning is too fresh and fair to be exchanged so 
soon for the darkness of night, but the guide leads on 
and we must follow. 

"We will not go farther without saying a few Avords 
about the colored guides. Mat and IS'ick. Mat is a fair 
average specimen of the Anglo African race, improved 
by a considerable degree of culture, acquired hy con- 
tact with scholars, professors of every science, and 
especially of geology and mineralogy. During the 
thirty years in which Mat has acted in the capacity of 
cave guide, he has collected a vocabulary of scientific 
terms that would do credit to a man of letters. Some- 
times he handles these musical phrases with as much 
skill and appropriateness in hewing down the barriers 
of ignorance as a mechanic who understands the use 
of his tools might display in swinging a broad axe. 



MaTmnoth Cave. 



Upon some occasions he is really amusing, as well as 
somewhat instructive. No one should fail to secure 
Mat's services as guide. He is slim, tall and wiry, and 
fifty years of age. He was for many years the associate 
of Stephen — the world-renowned cave guide. Nick 
has also grown old in the service, and is still a faithful 
and efficient guide. 

Mr. Samuel Meredith, a native of the county, has 
long been familiar with the cave, and is acting as 
guide at present. 

During the visiting season quite a number of effici- 
ent guides will be employed, many of them making 
the trip every day. 

By this time we . reach the floor of the cavern, and 
pass the cascade without fear. 

DISCOYEEIES. 

Previous to the year 1838 the only part of the cave 
familiar to the explorer was that from the entrance to 
the Bottomless Pit. In this year some bold adventurer 
passed the hitherto limit of subterranean knowledge, 
and was rewarded by the discovery of greater wonders 
than had yet been seen ; but the dangers incurred in 
reaching them increased in like proportion. So great 
and daring a feat, and yet so successful an enterprise, 
could not long go begging for a rival. In 1840 the 
rivers were navigated and crossed for the first time by 
living human beings. 



Mammoth Cave. 63 



A SECOND YIEW. 

For about two miles we follow the path of yesterday. 
We feel a peculiar satisfaction in viewing a second time 
some of the curious sights we saw on the previous day. 
A little reflection, after a sound sleep, seems to dis- 
robe many curious things of at least a part of their 
enchanted garments. We pass the Narrows, the first 
vats, the pump logs, and enter the Rotunda. So far 
we have the same impressions we had from the first, 
nor do we fear that such will not be the case with all 
the rest; but judgment sometimes runs against the 
impenetrable rock of reason, and we are compelled to 
change base. To illustrate : We may entertain a 
favorite opinion of this or that theory, and stear clear 
of all objections many times and yet fail in the next 
attempt. This fact was exemplified by one of the 
cave guides, who had made the trip successfully ninety- 
nine times, and yet knocked himself down on the 
hundreth by running his head against a rock project- 
ing from a low ceiling. 

We will not stop to make new observations, but pass 
on to the angle of the main cave, one mile from the 
entrance. Having reached this point, we turn around 
the Giant's Coflln to the right, leave the main cave by 
creeping down toward the Deserted Chambers, and by 
some strange fatality, bump the sorest part of our head 
against the identical peak that reminded us so forcibly 
on the previous day of the old lady's instructions to 



64^ Mammoth Cave. 

Thales, viz : " Keep the head from among the stars 
while the feet are on the earth." If Hannemann, the 
father of Homoeopathy, had converted himself into a 
troglodyte, and passed down this way several times, re- 
ceiving each time a greeting similar to ours, what an 
innumerable quantity of bitter pills humanity would 
have been obliged to feed upon ; for he would not 
have subscribed to that famous motto of his adherents, 
viz : " Similia similibus curantur." Reassured that a 
repetition of the cause will not remove the effect, we 
pass on through the Deserted Chambers, by the Bot- 
tomless Pit, over the Bridge of Sighs, along the Arched 
Way, leaving the Winding Labyrinth and Gorin's 
Dome to the right, and enter Revelers' Hall. In this 
wild, irregular, triangular cavern, we might easily mis- 
take the way, and traverse Pensacola Avenue, pass 
beneath Snowball Arch and enter Wild Hall, but for the 
sagacity of the guide, who leads us gently as lambs 
right into the Scotchman's Trap. We take another 
look at this arrested dead-fall, and wonder at the slen- 
der thread upon which many of the chief pleasures of 
life are suspended. 

Satisfied that there is no danger of the Trap being 
sprung while we are in it, we pass down the steps, 
begin to do penance by stooping, for we have entered 
the Valley of Humility. This terminates by entering, 
at almost right angles, a higher passage, the part of 
which leading to the right being known as Bunyan's 
Way, and that to the left Buchanan's Way. We 



Mammoth Cave. 65 



follow that bearing the name of our late chief magis- 
trate. Just forty yards from where we entered this 
grotto we turn off to the right into Fat Man's Misery. 
If we are a little stout we must keep the channel, lest 
in striving to escape Scylla we wreck upon Charybdis. 

After threading this sinuous passage its whole length, 
we are thrust into Great Relief, with a feeling some- 
what akin to that experienced by the successful appli- 
cant for a post-office, after having worked his way 
through the crowd and gained admittance to the audi- 
ence-room. Here we take a breathing-spell, and ex- 
perience great relief in another sense. Passing on now 
to the right, we soon enter River Hall, and the Bacon 
Chamber. A little further forward is the Dead Sea, 
whose dreary depths are as calm as if oppressed with 
the gloom that constantly hovers over it. The river 
Styx probably ran through this quiet pool before the 
channel was cut to its lower level. 

Time has changed the character of these pools and 
streams, but most probably the changes will not be so 
apparent in the future; as the streams in the cave, 
being connected with Green river, will never find a 
lower level than that of the aforesaid stream. Off to 
the right is a high, open grotto, that may be followed 
for miles in its zigzag directions, crossings and wind- 
ings. At one place there is a grotto of great size, cut 
right across another, and considerably deeper, just as a 
furrow in a cornfield is cut across and deeper than an- 
other. This is a strange freak, and the only instance 



66 MammotJi Cave. 

of the kind we have seen. In the deeper furrow, a 
troop of cavalry might ride oif in either direction. 
This passage is not shown to visitors. An open pas- 
sage leading forward from River Hall to the River 
Styx will give us access to Charon's Boat. This fabled 
craft has become rather old and frail, and the old gen- 
tleman has very wisely hauled it off. Parties may 
still take a trip on the River Styx in a boat of modern 
build and ownership. Viewed from the bridge that 
spans this river, the effect of the spectral scene, reflected 
from the dark waters of the fabled stream, is strange 
indeed and impressive beyond comparison. As the 
party approaches the shore, a Bengal or Calcium light 
hightens the beauty of the scene. 

PASSAGE OYER THE STYX. 
In mythological times, Mr. Charon seemed to mo- 
nopolize the ferry business, and so unpopular did he be- 
come that no one patronized his ferry, except under pro- 
test, and I believe to this day there may be found plenty 
of tourists who would rather swim the Styx than step 
into the old curmudgeon's boat. Happily we are not 
left with this alternative, for we have a natural bridge 
spanning the Styx in the cave, and over" this parties 
usually pass, without paying any toll. We take the 
road leading to the left in River Hall, and pass over the 
bridge. Part of the time our path lies close to the 
right of the grotto, and then we cross over a narrow 
bridge to the left. Here there should be put up a firm 
iron railing to provide against every possibility of 



MaTumoth Cave. 



67 



danger, thougli no one has ever been injured beyond a 
fright. We stoop in order to go safe, and creep along 
about thirty yards when we cross over to tlie right and 
descend a steep stairway that brings us down nearly 
on a level with the Dead Sea. Passing on a little fur- 
ther we begin to go up grade and enter a passage some- 
what lower and narrower. A few rods further and 
the ceiling springs ninety feet over our heads as we 
descend the slippery bank and stand on the shore of 
the Lethe. 

THE EMBAEKATION. 

Thick, dreary darkness is before and behind us ; the 
dark gray rocks on each side and over us, and at our 
feet lies a pool of water, whose surface never rippled 
by the breeze, looks calm as the face of an honest man 
in deep meditation. Moored by a stake driven into 
the sand, is a little boat, narrow, short, and shallow. 
This is the craft in which we intrust our most sacred 
treasure for a voyage over the Lethe. Shall we risk 
the voyage? "Why not? The waters are calm, and 
there is not motion enough in the atmosphere to turn 
a feather. In these dreary realms no tempests hover 
over the waters, ^olus is locked up in his rocky cave, 
and can no more invade these dominions than can the 
rays of the sun. Why not risk the voyage in this 
craft? Have we not entered upon the voyage of life 
in a bark infinitely more frail, without chart, com- 
pass, or experience, and the ship not so much as pro- 
visioned for a single day, and every foot of the way 



r 



68 Mammoth Cave. 

beset with lurking dangers, tempests, strife, bicker- 
ings, jealousies, irreverence, disbonesty, and, above all, 
unkindness to ourselves ? Alas, poor humanity is al- 
ways straining at a gnat. 

"With some such feelings we step into the boat, freight- 
ing her down within a few inches of her bearings. The 
guide now plies the paddle steadily, and skillfully, for 
we are entered upon a new field of explorations. The 
lights in the prow cleave the thick, murky darkness 
that closes around behind us, as the waters close around 
a fish. As we strain the vision to look out into the 
dismal realm, like a wrecked mariner looking out for 
a friendly sail, or for land, an impressive feeling creeps 
over us and we meditate upon the singular relation we 
sustain toward the world and ourselves. We are afioat 
upon a river that the sun never shone on, far beneath the 
surface of the earth, and in the enjoyment of life, health 
and reason, and yet cut oif from all communication 
with the outer world, except through the medium of 
the little boat and our lamps. 

THE GEEAT WALK. 
Having gone fifteen or twenty yards, the perpendic- 
ular wall on our left gives way to a low sandy beach. 
On this we disembark and fasten the boat carefully to 
a stake placed here for the double purpose of anchor 
and landmark. Our path now leads over undulating 
sand deposits, many of them very large. In some of 
these the sand is very fine and white in others it is 
coarse and red. These heavy deposits seem to indicate 



Marmnoth Cave. 69 



a powerful current when the rivers are high. All along 
this part of the grotto the ceiling is high over our 
heads. It seems probable that the rivers began to flow- 
between strata of limestone rock ages ago, cutting away 
the lower rock and leaving the upper which now forms 
the roof at various distances above the floor. The 
same characteristics obtain here as elsewhere. In ten 
minutes from the time we leave the boat at the Lethe, 
we come to the 

ECHO EIVEE. 

This wonderful stream is the most interesting object 
in this part of the cave. Its water has a temperature 
of fifty-four degrees, and at some seasons of the year 
is so transparent that the bottom may be distinctly 
seen at a depth of fifty feet. This stream is naviga- 
ble for nearly a mile. It is about one hundred and fifty 
feet wide and contains water enough to float the largest 
East river or Mississippi steamer. 

A TEIP 0^ THE ECHO EIVEE. 

We step into the square little boat and arrange our- 
selves upon the seats, consisting of boards laid across the 
gunwales. The vessel being properly trimmed we push 
off" from her moorage and float gently with the current 
of the stream. Now the little craft is at the mercy of 
deep, silent water. On each side is a perpendicular wall 
a hundred feet high, vaulted over head by solid ma- 
sonry. On our right, more than half way from the 
water up the wall, a huge cornice projects ten or twelve 



70 Mammoth Cave. 

feet out over the stream. This cornice is concave be- 
neath and ornamented with pendants resembling fret- 
work. On our left the wall gives way to a great 
deposit of fine sand, sloping gradually upward from 
the water's edge till it joins in places the descending 
roof at various distances from the river. The same 
outline is preserved, so far as we are enabled to pene- 
trate the darkness in either end of this vast corridor. 
Between these sand deposits on our left are several 
avenues leading oiF from the river. These communi- 
cate with our path further along. One of them passing 
over a high mountain of sand and rocks promiscuously 
jumbled together is called Purgatory. This path is fol- 
lowed by the explorer when the river is too high to pass 
beneath the arches. 

The peculiar feature of this region is the powerful 
echo that responds to every sound. One almost fancies 
that the susceptible nymph, whose excessive love for 
iTarcissus caused her to shrivel up and pine away till 
nothing remained but her voice, had taken up her 
abode among the beetling rocks overhanging this river. 

Whatever the renowned and valiant Don Quixote 
may have experienced during his enchantment in the 
famous cave of Montesinos, we doubt much whether it 
surpassed in sweetness the angelic chorus into which 
this nymph's voice still converts the simplest sounds 
for the entertainment of tourists. On our first visit to 
this place we would have been quite spell-bound but 
for the chagrin we felt at having left our fiute behind. 



Mammoth Cave. 71 

We pass along the dark shore, avoiding all purgato- 
rial experience, when presently the river seems to have 
come abruptly to an end; but not so, for on our right 
there are a few feet of space between the rocky arch 
spanning the river and the surface of the water. 
Through this we are doomed to pass. We reverently 
lower our heads and guide the motions of the boat by 
pushing with our hands against the rocky firmament 
arching over us. After going a few lengths of the 
boat we are again unable to reach tlie roof, for it 
springs up as suddenly as it was lowered. We can 
stand up at full length and only occasionally touch the 
rocks beneath which we are carried with the accelerat- 
ing velocity of the stream. After going half a mile or 
more our ears are greeted by the unwelcome sound of 
falling water. As we rush on, louder come the dole- 
ful duckings of the waves that roll into the little 
coves on both sides of the stream. Faster and faster 
sweeps our boat into this Hellgate; louder and fiercer 
come the sounds from the cascade, till they begin to 
excite alarm. The guide keeps on as if he neither saw 
nor heard aught, and but for his coolness we might 
become desperate under the suspense. Suddenly he 
turns the boat into a httle rocky inlet on the left side 
of the stream, where we disembark and fasten the craft 
securely to her moorage. 

Should our boat by any mishap get away from us here, 
or our lamps be extinguished, or our oil be consumed, 
without any means of supplying the want, we could no 



72 Maimnoth Cave. 

more find our way out than fallen man could find his 
way to a better world without the lights of Christian 
faith and revelation. Though fogs sometimes arise 
here, no misfortune has yet befallen any tourist. The 
guides understand their business too well to allow any 
such thing to happen. They never attempt the long 
journey without having made ample provision for every 
contingent emergency. Should a party remain in the 
cave beyond the proper time, a guide is sent in search 
of them. But such a necessity has not arisen in the 
space of many years. 

CASCADE HALL. 

After climbing over a rough ledge of irregular rocks we 
finally reach dryer and safer footing. We pass around 
a sharp pillar of dark gray limestone and are ushered 
into a romantic cavern. Judge of our surprise at dis- 
covering the cause of our consternation — a small stream 
of water, not much thicker than a gentleman's cane, 
issuing from an orifice in the ceiling and dashing upon 
the rocks some thirty or forty feet below, and finally 
disappearing through a funnel-shaped hole in the floor. 

This is the wildest and most romantic cavern beyond 
the Styx. It has an area of from a quarter to half an 
acre, irregular and picturesque on every side. The 
floor is almost impassable with rocks and rubbish that 
have fallen at intervals from the ceiling. It is a fit 
habitation for the gnomes, who until recently held un- 
envied and undisputed possession. 



Mammoth Cave. 73 



SILLIMAX'S AVE1!^UE, 
a passage, seven or eight yards wide, from fifteen to 
twenty yards high, and a mile and a half long, begins at 
Cascade Hall. The floor is very irregular, owing to 
portions of the ceiling having tumbled down from time 
to time, perhaps centuries ago. 

Either wall has a well-defined cornice of shelving 
rock, near the roof of the cavern, which gives it a 
heavy architectural finish. 

On each side of this grotto little avenues put ofl[, 
wind through the rocks, and finally return to the main 
cave again. 

DEIPPING SPEING. 

This is a pool of water receiving its supply from the 
ceiling. A slippery place close by is known as the In- 
fernal Regions. The Sea Serpent is a tortuous crevice 
cut by the action of running water into the ceiling over- 
head. Beyond the Hill of Fatigue is the stern of an 
immense ship, with her rudder hard-a-port. Next is 
the Rabbit — a large stone resembling in shape the ani- 
mal whose name it bears. 

OLE BULL'S CONCERT ROOM 

is on the left of Silliman's Avenue. It is thirty feet 
wide, forty feet long, and twenty feet high. When the 
inimitable violinist made his first tour through the 
United States, he visited the cave and performed in the 
hall that still bears his name. He probably gave this 
hall the preference, because the proportions of its 



74 Mammoth Cave. 



length, width, and hight are nearest to those of a 

hall built in conformity with the well-known laws of 

acoustics. 

EHODA'S AECADB. 

This is a charming hall putting off from Silliman's 
Avenue, about one mile from Cascade Hall. It is five 
hundred yards in length and from five to ten feet in 
hight. The walls and ceiling are covered with crystals 
of gypsum, and the floor is strewn with brilliant frag- 
ments that have been detached from their place of 
formation. 

LUCY'S DOME. 

This is the highest dome yet discovered in the cave. 
It is more than three hundred feet from the floor to the 
top, while its lateral diameter is only about sixty feet. 
Its mural embellishments are one continued series of 
curtains from the top to the bottom. It may be 
reached by passing through Rhoda's Arcade. 

About one mile and a half from Cascade Hall, a 
steep bluff divides the avenue into two separate 
grottoes ; that on the left still bears the name of Silli- 
man. We may follow it over a mile further with- 
out coming to any definite result. Tons of fibrous gyp- 
sum, white as snow, and fragments of alabaster of 
various colors are found in great abundance among the 
shelving rocks. Leading to the right is the 

PASS OF EL GHOE. 
For the distance of a mile and a half, El Ghor is a 
distorted labyrinth of beautiful and surprising sights; 



Marmnoth Cave. 75 

now narrow and lofty, now flattened out between hori- 
zontal strata of limestone, whose broken edges assume 
the most remarkable forms. 

Here is a little vestibule with moldings and friezes 
of the gothic style of architecture ; beyond is a Cretan 
labyrinth of the most singular and uncouth propor- 
tions, terminating in a series of ramifications leading to 
several tiers of avenues. 

It were too tedious to describe every particular ob- 
ject in detail, therefore we pass over to the points of 
greatest interest and beauty. Among these are the 
Hanging Rock; the Fly Chamber, in which a profusion 
of specks of black gypsum resemble a legion of flies 
upon the walls and ceiling. Table Rock is twenty feet 
long and projects ten feet from the side of the hall. It 
is only two feet thick. 

The Crown is about six feet in diameter and ten feet 
from the floor, on the right side of the hall. 

Boone's Avenue, leading ofi* to the left, has been ex- 
plored about a mile. It contains nothing of interest. 
Corinna's Dome, forty feet high and nine feet wide, is 
just over the avenue. The Black Hole of Calcutta is on 
the left side of the avenue. Stella's Dome is two hun- 
dred and fifty feet in hight. It is reached by an ave- 
nue in the left wall of the Pass of El Ghor. 

A series of pending rocks in this part of the hall is 
called the Chimes, because they emit a sound when 
struck by the hand. 



76 Martnnoth Cave. 



HEBE'S SPEI]^G 
is four feet in diameter and a foot and a half deep. The 
water contains sulphur. Half a mile beyond this spring 
the pass communicates with Mystic Ki^er, the extent 
of which is unknown. 

MAETHA'S YINEYAED. 

We will next climb up this ladder about twenty feet, 
and creep through a hole in the ceiling large enough to 
admit one at a time without any inconvenience, i^ow 
the passage leads gradually upward, as if it had been 
dug out by rabbits or marmots for their special habita- 
tion. Here a large vine springs up the wall from the 
base, reaching nearly to the top, where it supports a 
dense mass of foliage and clusters of grapes of won- 
derful size, their rich tints of blue and violet shining 
through the water that trickles over them. 

The plump, shining fruit, forever ripe and forever 
unplucked, clusters so thickly together as to hide the 
leaves of that subterranean vintage. 

WASHINGTON HALL. 

A little way beyond the vineyard, the grotto turns to 
the left and becomes more level on a higher plane. 
Here we enter "Washington Hall, a beautiful circular 
dome, over one hundred feet in diameter. The sub- 
dued color that lingers about the periphera of this hall, 
in spite of our lights, gives it an air of wonderful an- 
tiquity, almost too sacred to be devoted to no holier 



MaTmnoth Cave. 77 



purpose than that of a dining hall, and yet this is the 
almost infallible practice of visitors. Cans of oil are 
kept in this room, from which the lamps are replen- 
ished while the tourists are regaling the inner man. 

Marion's Avenue begins at "Washington Hall and 
leads to Paradise, Zoe's Grotto, and Portia's Parterre. 

ELIXDO ATEXUE. 
Here begins this splendid avenue, about twenty yards 
wide, six or eight yards high, and two miles long. This 
is a charming hall, white as snow, dotted with spark- 
ling crystals of gypsum. The diamond grotto and 
gardens of sparry efflorescence in the gleaming vaults 
of this magic hall, almost bewilder the senses. 

THE SXOWBALL EOOAT. 

This is a beautiful hall, reminding one of the sports 
of yore. The walls and ceiling are mottled with spots 
resembling those made by throwing a snowball against 
a solid wall. We almost fear to examine the little 
pyramids, lest they should soften by the heat ot our 
lamps and drop off". Surely the gnomes must have 
been a rollicking set of roysters when they were yet 
younger. Latterly they have grown very sedate and 
shy, for I am informed that not one has ever allowed 
itself to be either seen or heard. Xext is 

CLEYELAXDS CABIXET 
of Crystals, whose brilliant scintillations and wouderfal 
richness captivate us as completely as did the diamond 



\- 



78 Marmnoth Cave. 

eyes of Juggernaut the Hindoo. This magnificent hall 
is a mile and three-quarters long, sixty feet wide, and 
from ten to twenty feet high. Its variegated and bril- 
liant display surpasses anything we have yet seen. The 
following are some of the finest parts of it: Mary's 
Bower, fifteen feet high and forty feet in length. The 
walls and ceiling are covered with white rosettes. 
The Cross — two crevices intersecting each other at right 
angles, twined with flowers of gypsum. Mammary 
Ceiling — nipple-shaped projections. The Last Rose of 
Summer, about eight inches in diameter, pure ala- 
baster and white as snow. Bacchus' Glory — a little 
alcove lined with nodules of gypsum, resembling 
grapes. St. Cecilia's Grotto, Diamond Grotto, and 
Charlotte's Grotto, are all too brilliant and enchanting 
to be described. 

All these formations bear a wonderful similarity to 
branches of vines, leaves and flowers in the organic 
world. 

THE FLOWER GARDEN. 

Here is a conservatory for inorganics, stocked with 
the indigenous flora as well as with exotics. White roses 
and sunflowers, daises and lilies, the convolvulous, and 
the feathery chalices of the cactus hang in bewildering 
profusion from the crevices. The night-blooming 
cereus flourishes here without fear of the advancing 
morn blasting its fair fame. The scarlet of shame 
never blushes the tulip, for it is here a virgin pure and 
white as snow. Long, snowy, pendant wreaths of cac- 



Mammoth Cave. 79 



tu8 flowers trail their fringes upon the floor. The pas- 
sion flower, the iris, and bunches of celery, that might 
tempt the appetite of a fairy, flourish and sparkle on 
every side. Rock-blossoms, fair as alabaster, mingled 
with those of every shade of color, vegetate in great 
profusion upon the walls and along the crevices in the 
ceiling. 

EOCKY mou:n'tains. 

From the farther end of Elindo Avenue may be seen 
a huge pile of rocks, heaped one above the other to the 
hight of a hundred feet. As we gaze upon their dim 
outlines, we may easily imagine them to be miles away, 
and their hight to be equal to the hight of the Andes. 
Far above these, like a dark cloud in the night, may 
be seen the ceiling whence these rocks tumbled in pro- 
miscuous ruin down. 

CLEOPATEA'S NEEDLE. 

On the very top of this mountain there is a pretty 
little stalagmite, two feet high, and six inches in diam- 
eter. This shows that these rocks must have tumbled 
down ages ago. 

DISMAL HOLLOW. 

Beyond this mountain is an unexplored valley, named 
by Stephen (its discoverer) Dismal Hollow. What 
beauties or wonders, fraught with abundant dangers, 
lie beyond this point, must long remain subject to con- 
jecture. 

At the mountain the cave divides into three branches. 



80 Majmnoth Cave. 



That leading to the right terminates in Sandstone 
Dome. The sandstone found in this dome may be 
taken as evidence that the top of it reaches near to the 
surface of the earth. Another evidence which seems 
to corroborate this, is, the existence of numerous liz- 
zards, crickets, and rats in this part of the cave. 

CEOGHAN'S HALL. 
Some distance along the ridge of the mountain, is 
the entrance of a cavern opening to the left; this leads 
to Croghan's Hall, in one side of which the floor has 
dropped down into a deep pit, in which darkness 
reigns supreme. 

FEANKLIN AYENUE 
is the central path and leads from Dismal Hollow to 
Serena's Arbor, a distance of a quarter of a mile. 

SEEENA'S AEBOE 
is a beautiful cavern, twenty feet in diameter and forty 
feet high. The walls and ceiling are highly orna- 
mented with crystals and semi-transparent stalactites. 
These being sonorous, give T)ut a musical tone when 
struck by the hand. This is called the music of the 
cave. In the awful stillness of this dreary region this 
music produces a singular effect. 

THE MAELSTEOM. 
This is a pit thirty feet in diameter and of unknown 
and unexplored depth. The openings of avenues are 
visible at considerable distance down the pit, but these 



Mannmoth Cave. 81 

have never been and probably never will be explored. 
In the summer of 1859, William Courtland Prentice 
attempted to explore this region by descending into 
the Maelstrom. He was let down in a basket attached 
to a rope arranged with pulleys. The working of the 
apparatus was then entrusted to the management of 
some young friends of the bold adventurer. 

Several accounts of this perilous descent have been 
published. It has been made the thread of a spi rited 
narrative poem, by George Lansing Taylor, from which 
we take the following extract. The poem is entitled 

IN THE MAELSTEOM. 

"Down I down! down! 
Into the darkness dismal; 

Alone — alone — alone — 
Into the gulf abysmal, 
On a single strand of rope, 
Strong in purpose and in hope, 
Lighted by one glimmering lamp, 
Half extinguished by the damp, 
Swinging o'er the pit of gloom, 
Into the awful stillness, 
And the sepulchral chillness, 
Lower him into the Maelstrom's deeps, 
Where Nature, her locked-up 
Mysteries keeps ; 
Lower him carefully, 
Lower him prayerfully. 
Lower and lower and lower, . 
Where mortal never hath been before, 



Marmnoth Cave. 



Till lie shall tell us, till he shall show, 

The truth of the tales of the long ago, 

And find, by the light that the lamp shall throw, 

If this be the entrance to hell or no." 

In descending, the adventurer encounters a water, 
fall, or cascade, which is thus beautifully described : 

" But behold from rocky wall, 

Circling round the shaft below, 

Spouts a crystal waterfall; 

All its coarseness. 

And its hoarseness, 

"When he sees how fair their service is, 

"Vanish, till, by aid of vision, 

Sounds infernal grow elysian. 
Now he swings anear the side 

Of this weird and wond'rous tide, 

"Where its limpid billows slide. 

And its sheets, descending glide, 

Veiled in whiteness like a bride; 

Glistening where his lamp is beaming, 

Sparkling, flashing, glittering, gleaming. 

Like a shower of diamonds streaming 

From the lap of Nature dreaming; 
. Streaming downward, passing quickly. 

Sprinkling now upon him thickly. 

From the fissure far above him, 

As if all the Naiads love him, 

"With so rich a love and tender, 

That they shower baptismal splendor ; 

Floods of jewels for his visit 

Is't a flood of gems? or is it 

That their kisses almost drown him?" 



Mammoth Cave. S3 



Enchanted by the beauty of these fearful depths, the 
young hero still demands to be lowered 

" Into tlie dark profound, 
A deep that ne'er did plumbet sound; 
Still he descends, 
And anxiously bends. 
Gazing down in darkness that never ends — 

Whose dimness, 

And grimness, 

And darkness, 

And starkness, 

And deepness, 

And steepness, , 

And deadness, 

And dreadness, 
More frightful are made by his lamp's sickly redness; 
Till checked by sudden shock, 
He stands on solid rock. 
Ninety and a hundred feet 
From the friends who hold that cable; 
Will they lift it, are they able, 
Face to face, once more to greet ? 

He enters a hall, 

A huge niche in the wall, 
Where echoes unnumbered respond to his call. 

From a roof that impends 

Where a gallery extends. 
Till, bounded by distance, in darkness it ends. 



Now along its spacious flooring, 
Eager, pleased, he roams exploring ; 
O'er obstructions, through wide chambers, 
Onward still he wends and clambers. 



8j^ Mammoth Cave. 



Stalagmitic cones and masses 
Glitter every where he passes; 
Glitter through the gloom-like glasses; 
Shapes of beauty forming slowly, 
Arches, shrines, and altars holy; 
Groups of columns polyhedral, 
Like some rich antique cathedral; 
Nature's grand and gloomy glory, 
Fairer than the fanes of story. 

Thus he wanders, 

Eoams and ponders. 
Through this gallery of wonders, 
Till a rocky barrier rising 
To an altitude surprising, 
All across the chamber closes 
And eflFectually opposes 
All his efforts to get o'er it, 
And he stands repulsed before it, 
Yet he sees the cave extending 
Onward till in distance blending 
With the darkness, as if Nature 
Were resolved to hold some feature 
Hidden still from mortal creature." 

These beautiful verses are thus vigorously closed, 
with, as might be expected, a promise of future great- 
ness and glory, for the hero of this daring adventure : 

— " Down in that depth, where no ether has trod, 

Where writing was none save the writing of God, 
Was graven a name 
By that glimmering flame 
That shall live on the record of daring and fame." 



MarmnotJi Cave. 



85 



William Courtland Prentice, the hero of these verses, 
espoused the Southern cause, and was killed in an at- 
tack on the town of Augusta, Kentucky, in 1862. 

END OF THE CAVE. 

This is called the end of the cave. Though it is 
nine miles from the entrance, it is no more the end of 
the cave than is the last production of the sculptor or 
painter the end of art. 

Some mathematical troglodyte has estimated the 
whole series of caves, grottoes, halls and rivers at one 
hundred miles in extent. "Whether it is more or less, 
we are unable to determine. 

We have now accompanied you to the distal end of 
the journey, and can not be so ungallant as to desert 
you here. We will guide you back leisurely to the 
entrance, pausing occasionally to glance briefly at what 
we had passed too rapidly. 

EYELESS FISH. 
These are of two varieties, and by no means plenty. 
In the one variety there are rudimentary eyes, and in 
the other no traces of such organs are seen. We saw a 
few of each variet}^, but found their size much less than 
we were led to suspect. It is said that specimens of 
these eyeless fish have been found six inches in length- 
We saw none over two and a half inches in length, 
and so transparent were they that every organ in the 
body could be easily seen with the naked eye especi- 
ally if viewed in a strong light. For full scientific 
reports of these fish, see American Journal of Science, 



86 



Mannnoth Cave. 



second series, volume seventeen, page 258, May, 1854, 
and volume forty-five, page 94, July, 1843 ; and iN'ew 
York Journal of Medicine, volume five, page 84, 1845. 

EYELESS CEABS. 

These are also rather scarce, yet at low water some 
may be found by those who know just where to look 
for them. We saw a few that had been taken some 
time previous, and kept in an aquarium. These, too, 
seemed to be destitute of the power of hearing, but 
any motion imparted to the water seemed to create 
alarm. They probably have a high nervous sensibility, 
which is not inconsistent with their fair, soft, gelatinous 
appearance, in which they do not dift'er from the fish. 

It is thought that both the eyeless fish and the eye- 
less crabs found in these subterranean rivers are vivi- 
parous — bringing forth their young in the living state, 
differing in this respect from other fish, which are 
oviparous, or egg producers (excepting the mammals, 
such as the whale and porpoise). 

CEICKETS. 
Of these we saw but one, and it was not more than 
half a mile from the entrance. It did not differ from 
the variety usually found in dark and damp cellars. Its 
eyes were small, yet it showed unmistakable signs of 
recognizing the light of the lamp when brought near 
it. As one long incarcerated in a dungeon, it had lost 
that brown, healthy color peculiar to animals that 
move occasionally in sunlight. 



Marmnoth Cave. 87 



EATS. 

These are exceedingly numerous or very restless, and 
more probably both, judging from the number of tracks 
every where seen between the entrance and the rivers, 
and we believe, too, beyond the rivers, as they most 
likely understand the kind of navigation adopted 
by the Teuton who came around the sea by land. We 
saw no rats, and there is no evidence that they are 
either blind or unable to hear, for they scamper away 
and hide at the approach of visitors. 

MAMMOTH DOME. 

Spark's Avenue extends from River Hall to Mam- 
moth Dome, a distance of three quarters of a mile. 

This is a magniiicent dome, two hundred feet in 
diameter, and two hundred and fifty feet high. Stand- 
ing beneath its mighty arch as the guides light it up, 
we are impressed with the awful grandeur of the place. 

BANDIT'S HALL. 

This hall is about sixty feet long and forty feet wide. 
The floor is covered with large rocks that have become 
detached from the ceiling so long ago that no trace 
of their fracture remains above to show where they 
came from. To the right of this hall is an unex- 
plored avenue of unknown extent. It is called Brigg's 
Avenue. N'ewman's Spine is a curious crevice in the 
ceiling, resembling in outline the vertebral column of 
some huge animal. 



88 



Marmnoth Cave. 



SYLYAN AVENUE. 
This is about three hundred yards long, extending 
from Spark's Avenue to Clarissa's Dome. This avenue 
is remarkable for the great number of ferruginous 
billets of limestone, varying from five to fifteen inches 
in diameter. They look like petrified logs of wood, 
some of them having half the bark stripped off. 

We have now been in the cave about eight hours, 
and it is time to retrace our steps to the entrance. 
Though we have traveled by land and water about 
twenty miles we feel as fresh and vigorous as if we had 
walked only a mile for exercise. Everything wears 
the same strange appearance as on the previous day. 

We linger about the entrance of the cave in com- 
pliance with the caution and reach the hotel in half an 
hour more conscious of hunger than of fatigue. 

Thanking you for the patience and forbearance with 
which you have so kindly followed us, we will take our 
leave of you by introducing the following beautiful 
poem : 



Mammoth Cave. 89 



MAMMOTH CAVE. 

BY GEORGE D. PRENTICE. 

All day, as day is reckoned on the earth, 

I've wandered in these dim and awful aisles, 

Shut from the blue and breezy dome of heaven. 

While thoughts, wild, drear, and shadowy, have swept 

Across my awe-struck soul, like specters o'er 

The wizard's magic glass, or thunder-clouds 

O'er the blue waters of the deep. And now 

I'll sit me down upon that broken rock 

To muse upon the strange and solemn things 

Of this mysterious realm. 

All day my steps 
Have been amid the beautiful, the wild. 
The gloomy, the terrific. Crystal founts 
Almost invisible in their serene 
And pure transparency — high, pillar'd domes 
With stars and flowers all fretted like the halls 
Of Oriental monarchs — rivers dark 
And drear and voiceless as oblivion's stream 
That flows through Death's dim vale of silence — gulfs 
All fathomless, down which the loosened rock 
Plunges until its far-oflf echoes come 
Fainter and fainter, like the dying roll 
Of thunders in the distance — Stygian pools 
Whose agitated waters give back a sound 
Hollow and dismal, like the sullen roar 
In the volcano's depths — these, these have left 
Their spell upon me, and their memories 
Have passed into my spirit, and are now 



90 



Marmnoth Cave. 



Blent with my being till they seem a part 
Of my own immortality. 

God's hand, 
At the creation, hollowed out this vast 
Domain of darkness, where no herb nor flower 
E'er sprang amid the sands, nor dews, nor rains, 
Nor blessed sunbeams fell with freshening power; 
Nor gentle breeze its Eden message told 
Amid the dreadful gloom. Six thousand years 
Swept o'er the earth ere human footsteps marked 
This subterranean desert. Centuries 
Like shadows came and passed, and not a sound 
Was in this realm, save when at intervals, 
In the long lapse of ages, some huge mass 
Of overhanging rock fell thundering down, 
Its echoes sounding through the corridors 
A moment, and then dying in a hush 
Of silence, such as brooded o'er the earth 
When earth was chaos. The great Mastodon, 
The dreaded monster of the elder world, 
Passed o'er this mighty cavern, and his tread 
Bent the old forest oaks like fragile reeds 
And made earth tremble ; armies in their pride 
Perchance have met above it in a shock 
Of war with shout and groan, and clarion blast, 
And the hoarse echoes of the thunder gun; 
The storm, the whirlwind, and the hurricane 
Have roared above it, and the bursting cloud 
Sent down its red and crashing thunder-bolt; 
Earthquakes have trampled o'er it in their wrath, 
Kocking earth's surface as the storm-wind rocks 
The old Atlantic ; yet no sound of these 
E'er came down to the everlasting depths 
Of these dark solitudes. 



Marmnoth Cave. 91 

How oft we gaze 
With awe or admiration on the new 
And unfamiliar, but pass coldly by 
The lovelier and the mightier ! Wonderful 
Is this world of darkness and of gloom, 
But far more wonderful yon outer world 
Lit by the glorious sun. These arches swell 
Sublime in lone and dim magnificence, 
But how sublimer God's blue canopy 
Beleagured with his burning cherubims 
Keeping their watch eternal ! Beautiful 
Are all the thousand snow-white gems that lie 
In these mysterious chambers gleaming out 
Amid the melancholy gloom, and wild 
The rocky hills and cliflFs, and gulf, but far 
More beautiful and wild the things that greet 
The wanderer in our world of light — the stars 
Floating on high, like islands of the blest — 

The autumn sunsets glowing like the gate 

Of far-ofi" Paradise ; the gorgeous clouds 

On which the glories of the earth and sky 

Meet and commingle; earth's unnumbered flowers 

All turning up their gentle eyes to heaven ; 

The birds with bright wings glancing to the sun, 

Filling the air with rainbow miniatures ; 

The green old forest surging in the gale ; 

The everlasting mountains, on whose peaks 

The setting sun burns like an altar flame ; 

And ocean, like a pure heart rendering back 

Heaven's perfect image, or in his wild wrath 

Heaving and tossing like the stormy breast 

Of a chained giant in his agony. 



9'2 



Mammoth Cave. 



GEOLOGY. 

The following is an extract from an approximate 
section of the geological formations of the northern 
part of Edmonson county, Kentucky, by David Dale 
Owen, 1856 : 

, " On the south of Green river, the platform of lime- 
stone forming the descent into the Mammoth Cave is 
232 feet above Green river. The entrance to the cave 
being 38 feet lower than this bed of limestone, is 194 
feet above Green river. 

In the above 232 feet there are several heavy masses 
of sandstone, viz : at 125, 145, 150, 160 and 215 feet, 
but it is probable that most of them have tumbled from 
higher positions in the hill, as no alternations of sand- 
stone have been observed at these levels in the cave. 

From an elevation of 240 to 250 feet, the prevalent 
rock is sandstone without pebbles, which can be seen ex- 
tending up to 312 feet to the foundation of the cave hotel. 

The united thickness of the limestone bed on this 
part of Green river is about 230 feet, capped with 80 
feet of sandstone. 

About midway of the section on this part of Green 
river are limestones of an obscure oolitic structure, but 
no true oolite was observed. 

Many of these limestones are of such a composition 
as to be acted on freely by the elements of the atmos- 
phere, which in the form of nitric acid combine with 
the earthy and alkaline bases of calcareous rock, and 



Maimnoth Cave. ^3 



give rise to the formation of nitrates, with the libera- 
tion of carbonic acid ; hence the disintegrated rubbish 
of the caves yield nitrate of potash (saltpeter) after 
being treated with the ley from wood ashes and subse- 
quent evaporation of the saline lixivium. 

The wonderful cavernous character of the subcarbon- 
iferous limestones of the Green river valley, and, in- 
deed, of these particular members of the subcarbonif- 
erous group, throughout a great part of its range in 
Kentucky and Indiana is due, in a great measure, to 
this cause, together with the solvent and eroding effects 
of water, charged with carbonic acid. 

THE EOCK HOUSES 
frequently encountered, both in this formation and in 
the limestones of Silurian date, are produced by similar 
causes ; the more easily disintegrating beds generally 
crumbling away while the more durable remain in 
the overhanging ledges. 

HOW THE CEYSTALLINE FLOWEES 
AEE FOEMED. 
By the oxidation of other elements, sulphates of 
oxides of iron and alkalies, with carbonate of lime, give 
rise to the formation of gypsum, which appear in the 
form of rosettes, festoons and other imitative forms, on 
the walls and ceiling of the cave. 

Crystallizations of sulphate of soda and sulphate of 
magnesia are not uncommon, both in some of the caves 
and in sheltered situations under the shelving rocks. 



94 



Mammoth Cave. 



In one of the spacious halls beyond the Star Cham- 
ber, and through which the tourist must pass on his 
way to the Chief City, the sulphates of soda and mag- 
nesia in a very pure state are found in great quantities. 

CONCLUSION. 

We are frequently asked "At what season of the 
year can a visit to the Cave be most profitably made ?" 
To this we answer, from our own experience we prefer 
the month of June, though from May till November, 
in ordinary seasons, the whole of the cave may be 
thoroughly explored. The most beautiful parts of the 
cave being beyond the rivers, can not be visited from 
November till May, as the streams in the cave are 
usually so swollen that no one ventures beyond them. 
The rise and fall of these streams are known to be 
nearly fifty feet, filling up many of the passages alto- 
gether during a wet season. That part of the cave 
between the entrance and the rivers being much higher 
than the Green river, may be visited at any season, 
summer or winter. This is called the Short Journey, 
though the sum of its various avenues exceeds twenty 
miles in extent. " 

Every tourist will do well to put himself unreserv- 
edly under the care of his guide, and above all he 
should not become separated from the party, as serious 
consequences have been known to result from inatten- 
tion to this important fact. 



Mammoth Cave. 



95 



TABLE OF DISTANCES ON THE LOUISVILLE 
& NASHVILLE EAILEOAD. 

The fleures to the right of the name of the station show the distance froni Louis- 
ville to each several station to Nashville. Those on the left, from Nashville to 
Louisville. 



STATIONS. 



185 
178 
172 
167 
163 
160 
155 
151 
143 
135 
133 
130 
126 
119 
112 
110 
105 
102 
100 
94 



Louisville 

Randolph's Station , 

Brook's Station 

Shepherdsville 

....Bardetovvn Junction 

Belmont 

Lebanon Junction — 

Colesburg 

, Ellzabethtown 

Glendale 

Nolin 

Sonora 

Upton's Station 

Bacon Creek 

Munfordsville 

Kowlett's Station 

Horse Cave 

Woodland 

.Cave City, Mammoth Cave. 
Glasgow Junction 



Rocky Hill 

....Smith's Grove 

Oakland 

Bristow 

...Bowling Green 

.Memphis Junction.. 

Kich Pond 

Woodburn 

Franklin 

Mitchellville 

Richland 

....Fountain Head 

South Tunnel 

Gallatin 

Pilot Knob , 

....Saundersonville... 

, Hendersonville.... 

..Edgefield Junction. 

Madison 

, Nashville 



96 
100 
102 
109 
113 
118 
122 
125 
134 
140 
144 
146 
152 
159 
164 
166 
170 
175 
178 
185 



*i 



M 



